Ezekiel Chapter 18
Sermon on 2026-02-08
at Calvary Chapel Portsmouth
by
Pastor Barry Forder

Section 1 = Ordinary text
Section 2 = Time Index
= = = = = = = = = =

We're into Ezekiel chapter 18, and we'll get into the text in just a moment.

 Just to give you another kind of overview, I think sometimes it can be helpful just to get a picture in our heads of what's going on historically and so on.

 If we look at the timeline that we're dealing with, David ruled around about a thousand years before Jesus came.
 So about a thousand B.C., and then obviously Solomon followed him and reigned for 40 years.
 And then the kingdom divides into the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom, and we go down.
 So the timeline shown here, about 850 B.C., so kind of some way into the kings at that point, about 150 years into the kings, about 100 years into the divided kingdom, as it were, and all the way down through here, down to about 450.
 So that's kind of the timeframe we're looking at.
 We're looking at the kings of Israel.
 They're just some of the ones that reigned for the longest time.
 Some of these kings we recognize the names of.
 Jehoram, not a particularly good king.
 Jehu could have been good, but wasn't.
 Jehoaz, Jehosh, Jeroboam II, another terrible king.
 In fact, all the kings of the northern kingdom were dreadful.
 They were ungodly.
 There's not one good king amongst them.
 And, of course, that ultimately leads to the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C.
 That's when the Assyrian army comes, lays siege, and then eventually, the northern kingdom is taken away captive.
 The kings of Judah don't fare much better, truthfully, and right the way down from Rehoboam, Solomon's son, all the way down through to Zedekiah, the last king you can see here.
 There's only five good kings in the whole of the northern kingdom.
 The rest of them were awful.
 But there's a few that were good, and two that stand out for us, that we're interested in.
 Particularly Hezekiah here was a good king.
 We'll be mentioning him a little bit this morning.
 And then Josiah also was a good king.
 We'll see a little bit of this.
 In between these two, we've got Manasseh.
 Manasseh was awful.
 He was probably the worst of the bunch and did so many dreadful things, committed so many atrocities.
 It really was a very dark period.
 And we'll be referencing him a little bit in the study this morning as we go through.
 Joel is believed by many commentators to be the first of the prophets, those that are recorded in Scripture.
 As in the ones we have books of the prophets.
 And Joel kind of sets the tone of all the prophetic books.
 Joel is incredible because in these few short chapters, he encompasses so much of history.
 And of course, he's quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost and so on.
 But the message is the one of the coming Redeemer, the Messiah.
 And it also is speaking of the restoration of the nation of Israel.
 And really, all the other prophets draw from these few short chapters of Joel.
 And then so much of what they say is really expounding more of what Joel said.
 And then all the other prophets come from him, the other minor prophets, particularly that we're looking at there.
 You can see ending, of course, with Malachi, the last of the prophets in the Old Testament.
 And then we've got the ones we call the major prophets.
 The minor prophets only because the books are shorter, not because they're less significant.
 But the ones we consider as the major prophets.
 Isaiah.
 What an incredible prophet.
 Yeah.
 Incredible book.
 Sixty-six chapters.
 It's kind of like a mini Bible all in itself.
 And interestingly, split into like an Old Testament and a New Testament, the way that the information is given to us.
 There's so much in there about the days in which we're living.
 But also these incredible prophecies, particularly Isaiah 53.
 This incredible chapter that speaks of the Messiah coming as this suffering servant who would give his life, that the wrath of God would be poured upon him.
 So much in the book of Isaiah.
 We kind of studied that through it.
 We did a Bible study a little while ago as we do the book of Jeremiah.
 Jeremiah is one of my favorite prophets because he just doesn't succeed at anything.
 And I kind of relate to that in as much as the way the world looks at us for success, we can't be measured that way.
 You know, Jeremiah didn't really convert anybody or convince anybody.
 Everybody hated him.
 All he did was speak the words that God gave him.
 Even his own family wanted to kill him.
 But what? He was a man.
 And you see, what we see with Jeremiah is that it doesn't matter what the results are.
 What matters is obedience.
 You see, so often in Christian life, we talk about success.
 You know, and it's interesting at the pastors conference a few weeks back.
 And of course, it's a natural question.
 Other pastors were coming up and saying, you know, how's the fellowship going? And we can't help when we kind of ask or answer those questions.
 And we can't help when we think about it in terms of success.
 But the real answer is not one of success.
 It's one of obedience.
 Are we being obedient? I've said many times, yeah, we should remove success, the words from success, from the Christian dictionary.
 It doesn't matter whether we're successful.
 Are we obedient? And Jeremiah, well, he was obedient.
 Incredible trials that he went through.
 But he was faithful to God.
 And that's what really matters.
 And of course, we've then got Daniel, another one.
 The very first one.
 The very first one.
 Very, very similar.
 What an incredible life Daniel was.
 And there's nothing bad spoken of Daniel.
 One of the few characters in scripture of which there's no bad thing spoken about him.
 I mean, even Jeremiah.
 I mean, he groans and moans and complains and so on.
 But Daniel, we never read of anything negative.
 Joseph was another character.
 Very much Christ-like is the way they're portrayed to us.
 And then we get to the fall of Babylon.
 We're in this period of time.
 The Babylon is in the ascendancy at the moment.
 And of course, Ezekiel has been taken away to Babylon.
 But that only lasted a short period of history.
 From about 612 BC, the first siege of Jerusalem was in 606 BC.
 And that's when Nebuchadnezzar comes to the throne.
 He becomes the king ruling over the whole empire.
 But then Babylon falls only a few years later, really, in 539 BC.
 That's when the Persian army of Saul, the king of the Babylonians, falls.
 And the Persian army of Cyrus takes Babylon in the nighttime, without a battle, without a struggle, just as had been prophesied in Isaiah.
 And then a couple of years, two years after that, or certainly within two years of that, in 537, that's when the exiles get to return home.
 So those that have been taken away, including, let's say, the likes of Ezekiel, Daniel.
 We don't know about Ezekiel, but Daniel we know didn't go back.
 But by that point, he's a man way into his 80s.
 And he chooses to stay in Babylon, as many did.
 But about 50,000 Jews did go back.
 Only a small number, but they did go back.
 And of course, then the temple is rebuilt in about 515 BC.
 And then the walls again, that command by Artaxerxes, along with Eumenes in 444 BC and so on.
 Ezra and Nehemiah are the books that really detail that period of history as well.
 And so the bit that we're really focusing on now is from about 593 to 574 BC.
 This time when Ezekiel is prophesying to the captives.
 Again, we said he was expecting to grow up and become a priest.
 He's of the tribe of Levi.
 But God has a different mission for him, a different plan.
 And that's to be this watchman, this voice to the nation.
 As an introduction to this chapter this morning, then, just remind ourselves, chapter 14, we get this prophecy against the idolatry of the elders that will obey back in Jerusalem.
 Ezekiel's in the land of Babylon.
 And he's prophesying against those.
 And he kind of has this vision, seeing all that's going on.
 But emphasizing the certainty of the destruction.
 They didn't believe Jerusalem could be destroyed.
 It was a city that David had ruled over.
 And they were arrogant.
 But then Ezekiel emphasizes the fact that it will be destroyed by three parables.
 And this is what we saw in chapter 15 with the parable of the worthless vine.
 Chapter 16, that parable of the abandoned baby.
 And then chapter 17, we saw the parable of the two eagles and the vine.
 And so on.
 As we go into chapter 18, we're going to see that the verdict that God has pronounced is justified.
 And it's interesting because we're going to see here typical arguments that the world will put out.
 The complaints that the world has about God.
 About whether God's fair or not fair and so on.
 And we're going to see that God is making the case that he's absolutely justified in bringing this judgment upon the nation of Israel.
 Or the nation of Judah, which is all that's left of the overall nation.
 Israel seemingly was starting to listen to Ezekiel.
 At least maybe considering that what he was saying actually could happen.
 And again, those last few chapters, 15 to 17, have seemingly got their attention.
 But as is typical of human nature, they try to justify themselves and shift the blame.
 You know, it's like, well, if God is going to do this and bring judgment, it's not our fault.
 It's kind of the idea.
 And it's been said many times that our sin always looks worse on someone else.
 You know, we see someone doing something, we think, that's terrible.
 And we recognize actually that those things existed in us.
 But it always seems worse when somebody else does it.
 Because we try and justify it.
 We try and rationalize why it's not actually that bad.
 And effectively, their argument here that we see is this.
 If God were to bring judgment, it's not our fault.
 We're just the victims, is what they were saying.
 And support this, they quote a well-known proverb to, if you like, prove their innocence.
 The concept that they'd invoked, if you like, both from the proverb that they quote and from the Torah, was that the iniquity of the fathers was being visited upon the children.

 So they're going to use that as an excuse to say, in effect, OK, you're judging us, but you're judging us for the sins of the fathers.
 And we see that this chapter there is a rebuttal to their argument.
 God's going to emphasize that these people are going to be judged for their personal sin.
 Yeah, their fathers had committed all sorts of atrocities.
 And yes, that was in part the reason for the judgment.
 But that didn't excuse them.
 And it's also a lesson for us in misapplying scripture to support our cause.
 And that happens way too often.
 You don't have to accept all the things that are going on in your life.
 You don't have to accept or believe the Bible.
 It's really simple.
 You don't have to believe it.
 We have a choice.
 I mean, I would argue that there's overwhelming evidence to support everything that's in the Bible.
 Every aspect of it, historically, scientifically, mathematically.
 There's all sorts of wonderful patterns and hidden things in hidden texts that demonstrate that it's way beyond just the ability of man to have written these words and these pages.
 So I think there's really credible arguments to support the historicity, the factual basis for everything that we find in the Bible.
 But if you do accept the Bible, it's all or nothing.
 You don't get to pick and choose the bits that you want and the bits that you don't want.
 You don't get to choose your own personal theology.
 Theology is just the study of God.
 And look, we can deduce certain things about God simply by looking at the world around us.
 You know, looking at creation, conscience, the design of the universe.
 And there's things that we can deduce from that.
 And those things are available to everyone, everywhere.
 And those things tell us that God is powerful, creative.
 There's an orderly creator we just see from the things we see around us.
 And you've got to look at the symmetry that we see in nature.
 You look at a butterfly or any creature.
 But it doesn't tell us his name, his history, or his plan for salvation.
 And many theologians say, well, God is a creature.
 And many theologians argue that nature is a little bit like a silhouette.
 You can make out the shape, but you can't see the face.
 But all we really know about God comes from the Bible.
 That's why we don't get to just pick and choose the bits we like and dislike.
 All we know about God's character, his promises, the specific commands, and the specific promises, and so on.
 John Calvin famously used the metaphor of the story of the soul.
 John Calvin famously used the metaphor of the story of the soul.
 He argued that sin has made our eyesight blurry.
 He argued that sin has made our eyesight blurry.
 And when we look at the world, we see beauty, but we also see confusion and suffering.
 But when we put on the spectacles of the Bible, the blurred images of the world come into sharp focus.
 And we finally understand why the world is beautiful and why it's broken.
 Interestingly, there are many who are critical of the Bible.
 They don't like the things the Bible says.
 And it's like a man looking at these glasses not wearing the glasses.
 Everything is blurry.
 But I love that idea that you put on the spectacles of the Bible and everything starts to make sense.
 I remember some time ago, I think it was John McCarthy, was held hostage in Beirut.
 And he made the comment that when he was there, all he was given to read was a cup of wine.
 And he made the comment that when he was there, all he was given to read was a cup of wine.
 And he made the comment that when he was there, all he was given to read was a cup of wine.
 And he started reading the Bible and he got through into the Torah and started reading these accounts of the battles and so on.
 And he just thought, well, if that's what God's like, I want nothing to do with him.
 And that was his conclusion.
 If only he had read on.
 If only he had got to the Gospels and understood that this world is a messed up place.
 And that there were reasons why God told the Israelites to wipe out those tribes that were in the land of Canaan.
 They weren't ordinary tribes of people.
 I mean, firstly, they were given over to all sorts of sin.
 But there was demonic things going on.
 Genesis 6 gives us an insight into some of that.
 When you look at things through the lens of Scripture, everything starts to make a bit more sense.
 And that's why we have got to be very careful when we just take a little bit without looking at the bigger picture.
 The more we understand, the more it all starts to make sense.
 And what God is going to do here through Ezekiel is emphasize the Jews' personal responsibility.
 They were getting judged for their sin.
 And he's going to use several examples in a rebuttal of the hereditary arguments that they're trying to use.
 And again, the whole idea of personal responsibility is not a new idea.
 Ezekiel has already addressed it back in chapter 3.
 And chapter 14.
 And we find it back in Deuteronomy 24, 2 Kings and so on.
 But notice that we do hear a lot in some of the parts of the church today about this idea of ancestral sin or hereditary curses.
 I'm sure you've heard people talk about these things.
 Well, this chapter becomes a must read on that basis.
 Let's jump in and have a look at the text.
 We read chapter 18, picking up verse 1.
 The word of the Lord came unto me again.
 Saying, What mean ye that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? Now back in Exodus chapter 20, verse 5, and also in Deuteronomy 5, verse 9, God describes himself as punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me.
 That's effectively what we're told.
 And so we find that the Israelites took this warning about this.
 And so we find that the Israelites took this warning about this.
 This warning about the long-term consequences of idol worship and so on.
 And they turn it into a rigid, fatalistic rule.
 They believe that they were essentially locked in to a destiny written by their ancestors.
 And again, the same kind of idea we see in the church.
 We see those that will say, Well, my forefathers were involved in this or that or whatever else, be it freemasonry or something or something or something or witchcraft back in the line.
 And they say, Well, I don't know.
 I don't know what to do with myself or what to do with my family.
 I don't know what to do with myself or what to do with my family.
 And they say, Well, I don't know.
 I don't know what to do with myself or what to do with my family.
 So there's a curse on me, and so on.
 And we'll talk about those things as we go through.
 But this is all part and parcel of that whole picture.
 And we see how deep-rooted this idea had become.
 And Jeremiah highlights it twice.
 In Jeremiah 31, verse 29, he says, In those days they shall say no more.
 So he's saying there's going to come a day when they won't really use this argument.
 The fathers have eaten of sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge.
 You know what? And then in Lamentations, also written by Jeremiah, in chapter 5, verse 7, You see, they use the same example again.
 But the point of these passages was the effects of sin are serious and long-lasting.
 Not that God capriciously punishes the innocent for their ancestors' evil ways.
 There are consequences that are sometimes experienced by future generations.
 I mean, look, this country has made some awful decisions.
 And we are suffering from the result of some of the decisions that have been made.
 We've given up a lot of the freedoms that we once had.
 And so we suffer.
 And the generations to come, the world terrorists will also suffer.
 In Israel, we're the same.
 There have been many mistakes.
 And they impact future generations.
 So in that sense, this is what these scriptures are referring to.
 Particularly the ones from Deuteronomy, Exodus, and so on.
 But to say that we're punished through no fault of our own because of something our fathers did is just not scriptural.
 

So the issue here is that the proverb they derived from these verses was simply incorrect.
 It's a danger.
 It's a danger, again, of lifting a verse out of scripture without considering the context.
 Again, the fathers ate the grapes and the children paid the penalty is the idea.
 And it's true to a certain extent that God judges the individual, father or son, according to their own conduct.
 And there's a distinction between legal, if you like, personal guilt and the practical consequences that go with decisions that are made.
 That then will.
 And will affect future generations.
 But note also that these aren't speaking of judgments for eternal life, but a judgment in this life, according to as a man obeys or disobeys.
The generation that were in exile, including, of course, Ezekiel, look back at the horrific reign of King Manasseh that I mentioned briefly earlier.
 And he practiced all sorts of things, but including child sacrifice and gross idolatry.
 And the failures of.

 Their fathers were well known to those in exile.
 And so they concluded that God was finally settling the bill, if you like, for the last 400 years of failure.
 I mean, you could argue almost a thousand years, really.
 And the idea they had was that, well, they just seem to be the ones left holding the bill.
 They've got to pay, but it wasn't really their fault.
 And seemingly the same way we have with the modern Jews.
 There's an underlying idea that it was.
 The sins of their forefathers, not their own.
 That God is bringing judgment upon them for.
 Again, you can compare Genesis 3.
12, where Adam transfers the blame of his sin to Eve and even to God.
 He says, the woman who now gave his to me, she gave me the tree and I did it.
 You know, it's the woman that you gave me.
 It's your fault, God.
 We do that.
 We try and squirm out.
 We try to always make it someone else's fault.
 It's much better with us.
 In Ezekiel 18, which we're looking at, and also in Jeremiah 31, this proverb is used, in a sense, as a bit of a psychological shield.
 Again, the fathers at the grapes, the exiles were effectively saying, this isn't our fault.
 God's being unfair or unjust.
 And really what they're saying is, well, repentance is useless because the curse is already in motion.
 And the problem is, of course, what they were then saying is, well, we might as well carry on doing what we're doing anyway.
 If we're going to get judged for it, we might as well get told off for it.
 Sorry, if we're going to get told off for it, we might as well do the things.
 I'm sure you've all had that kind of experience with a child at some point.
 If they think they're going to get told off, well, you know.
 Verse 3 goes on.
 It says, As I live, says the Lord God, you shall not have occasion anymore to use this proverb in Israel.
 It's an interesting statement.
 God uses that expression.
 As I live.
 That's how certain this is.
 No doubt that God exists.
 God lives.
 
The word live or some form of it occurs 13 times in this chapter.
 And the word die occurs 14 times.
 It's a chapter about living and dying.
 But not in an eternal life and death kind of situation.
 That's not what God's talking about here.
 Notice that Jesus in John 10.
10 tells us that he came to give us abundant life here and now.
 You know, we can choose to live.
 We can choose to live in a state of life or in a state of death.
 Those who don't know Christ are effectively living to die.
 But Jesus wants us to have an abundant life, to truly live.
 And a lot of this depends upon our perspective and our position and our relationship with God.
 Verse 4 goes on.
 Behold, all souls are mine.
 As the soul of the Father, so also the soul of the Son is mine.
 The soul that sinned, it shall die.
 Firstly, notice this.
 Behold, all souls are mine.
 This is reminding me of what we read in Romans 9.
 Picking up verse 20.
 Nay, but O man, who art thou that thou repliest against God? Shall the thing form, say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hast not the potter power over the clay of the same lamp to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour? What if God willing to show his wrath and to make his power known in Jude with much long suffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to distraction? You see, God is sovereign.
 He can do whatever he wants - He doesn't ask our permission.
 He doesn't check that it's OK with us if we ...
 No - God is sovereign.
 Again that verse tells us, behold all souls are mine.
 Notice also the statement.
 “That the soul that sins, it shall die.”
 Now God is speaking of the way in which he 
        judges individuals in this life.
 And we need to look at this entire chapter from that vantage point.
 Every man shall be put to death for their own sin.
 The father shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers.
 Every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
 That's what Deuteronomy 24, 16 tells us.
 So this isn't just an isolated chapter, it's a recurring theme through Scripture.
 
And Ezekiel anticipates here more fully in verse 32, what Paul teaches us in the New Testament, that God wills that all men should be saved.
 And we'll see that in the text.
 Again, this idea of living and dying are used both in the literal and in the eschatological sense here.
 Look at the end times, what's to come.
 This idea of living also has that connotation of entering into the kingdom, the things that are about to come.
 Of course, the Jews had no idea when the kingdom would come.
 They knew the kingdom had been promised a day, and of course, they've gone into this time now where, effectively, the monarchy in Israel is pretty much over.
 Looking forward to this time when all the prophets have been saying that the Messiah is going to come.
 
But to die has the idea of having no share or no part in that kingdom.
 And Ezekiel, like the other Old Testament writers, sees this kingdom as an earthly one.
 It's incredible that there are branches of the church today, very much drawn out of people like Augustine and others down through history, and particularly the Roman Catholic Church, and sadly, much of the Reformation, propagated this idea of amillennialism, that there won't be a literal period of rule and reign on earth of Jesus.
 It's such a common theme in the Old Testament.
 It's incredible that believers have come to those positions and conclusions.
 You've only got to read it.
 You've got to read the text to see how clearly they speak of those times, or the time to come.
 
So we're going to see three generational examples.
 Ezekiel's going to give us this case study, if you like, to make a point.
 It kind of mirrors real-world history of three of the Judean kings.
 We're going to have contrasted, in type, although he's not mentioned by name, but clearly this seems to be what Ezekiel is alluding to here, Hezekiah, that godly king.
 The grandfather.
 And then we've got the ungodly son, Manasseh.
 Yes, Manasseh was the son of Hezekiah, this brilliant king in those last 15 years of his life that he got added on, if you remember, as a son.
 He becomes the worst king.
 And then we've got the godly grandson, if you like, Josiah.
 
So verse 5 goes on and says, But if a man be just, then do that which is lawful and right.
 So the idea underlying here is think of that just grandfather.
 Think of Hezekiah.
 He was a king who was just.
 He did that which was lawful and right.
 And has not eaten upon the mountains.
 This is that idea where the feasts were connected with sacrifices and so on, and they were having these false or these pagan rituals and so on on the mountains, which they've been told not to do.
 Neither is lifted.
 Neither has set up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel.
 Neither has defiled his neighbour's wife.
 Neither has come near to a menstrual woman.
 And again, these are all things that Ezekiel, the Lord through Ezekiel is reminding them of the law that had been given.
 Again, to respect the rights of marriage and respecting the laws regarding unclean women and so on.
 And has not oppressed any, but has restored to the debtor his pledge.
>>>>>>>
Now again in Exodus, Deuteronomy, Amos – they all make reference to this idea that if somebody gives you a pledge you give it back.
The first example is that this good person ???? Hezekiah here had done all these things “has spoiled none by violence, has given his bread  to the hungry, and hath
covered the naked with a garment.
These are all things that are drawn from The Lord

 that this individual in the example is being given.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
 “He that has not given forth upon usury.” (18v8)
 What's that? Well, again, Jews were forbidden to take interest or make interest if they'd given a loan to somebody.
 It was fine if it was for foreigners.
 They could put interest on that.
<<<<<<<<<<<
 “Neither has taken any increase that has withdrawn his hand from iniquity, has executed true judgment between man and man.” (Ezekiel 18v8)
 And again, has walked in my statutes and has kept my judgments.
 Still truly, he is just.
 He shall surely live, says the Lord God.
 So the picture is painted of a godly person that keeps the law.
 A whole load of different laws are alluded to there.
 They're saying in all these things, as best as possible, this individual is upright.
 And God's saying, that person is going to live.
 Again, talking about this life, we're not talking about eternal.
 This isn't a salvation thing.
 God's going to bless him in this life.
 And that's typically the blessings that we speak of and read of in the Old Testament.
 And then we've got this idea of the just grandfather.
 Again, he's a just man.
 And the son, in contrast, is going to be an ungodly, a robber, a murderer, and lots of other horrible things.
 And then the grandson is going to be presented to us.
 Again, who's going to be just.
 And that is going to put to silence the idea that you're being punished for your father's sins.
 Verse 10 goes on.
 If he beget a son.
 So this righteous, godly man.
 Again, think King Hezekiah.
 If he begets a son, which he did, which was Manasseh, that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like.
 So that's all the things that have been listed in verse 6-9.
 To any one of these things, and again, the focus now shifts to this example of Manasseh, and that doeth not any of those duties, but has eaten upon the mountain, and defiled his neighbor's wife, and has oppressed the poor and needy, has spoiled by violence, has not restored the pledge, and has lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed abomination, has given forth usury, has taken increase.
 Shall he then live? He shall not live.
 He has done all these abominations.
 He shall surely die.
 His blood shall be upon him.
 So what we see straight away is that a good father, as in the case here with Hezekiah, couldn't pile up merit for his son.
 You know, a father can lay up certain things for the children, and when the father dies, the children will inherit.
 What you can't do is lay up good works so that your children can inherit those from you.
 They have to make their own choices.
 And again, it's confirmed the fallacy of this proverb that the people are quoting.
 And again, this principle is clear from the things we're reading.
 Now, lo, if he beget a son, all right, so they're kind of now thinking about Josiah, who was actually the grandson of Manasseh, but the idea is a grandson, next generation.
 And lo, if he beget a son, and seeth all his father's sins which he has done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, that has not eaten upon the mountains, neither has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, has not defiled his neighbor's wife, neither has oppressed any, has not withholden the pledge, neither has spoiled by violence, but has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment, that hath taken of his hand from the poor, that has not received usury nor increase, has executed my judgments, has walked in my statutes, he shall not die for the iniquity of his father.
 He shall surely live.
 So this example that Ezekiel's giving is just pulling the rug out of this false claim, this lie that they deceived us, deceived themselves with.
 And for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
 Yet you say, why? Does the son not bear the iniquity of the father? All right, just think about this for a second.
 This was their argument, almost the response to Ezekiel saying this.
 Why doesn't the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son has done that which is lawful and right, and has kept all my statutes, and has done them, he shall surely live.
 And it's almost like a consolation to them to the thing that the son might suffer for his father's misdeeds.
 And the idea for them is it would kind of justify the notion of themselves as innocent sufferers from the guilt of others.
 And it would justify them in their present course of life, which they choose to continue in.
 In other words, again, as I said earlier, if we're gonna be punished for it, we might as well do it.
 So they were almost arguing, but why shouldn't the son, surely the grandson should be punished for the father's crimes.
 Again, God, through Ezekiel says, the soul that sin it shall die.
 

Again, this is repeated for emphasis from verse four.
 The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son.
 The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
 Again, as Ezekiel points out, then either son or father will be held responsible for the other's iniquity, but each person is individually responsible to God.
 But, and this is one that we see God's grace in all of this.
 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he has committed and keep my statutes and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
 And of course, this is what we're told in the Bible, what we're told in the New Testament in 2 Peter 3, 9, that God is long suffering and not willing that any should perish.
 And the chapter emphasizes that the moment a person turns from their own sin to God, the past, even their own past, let alone the father's, no longer determines their standing before God.
 Now, the incredible thing here is Manasseh was taken captive.
 
At the end of his life, he repents.
 After all that he'd done, he repents.
 Now, Manasseh, he repents.
 After all that he'd done, he repents.
 After all that he'd done, he repents.
 All the wickedness and everything else, and this is an incredible statement, Ezekiel's saying this, the Jews would have known this.
 But if the wicked, and you've seen described all the things that he did, it's in this analogy that Ezekiel's using.
 But if the wicked will turn from his sins that he has committed and keep all my statutes and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live.
 What a gracious God.
 And all his transgressions that he has committed, They shall not be mentioned unto him.
 In his righteousness that he has done, he shall live.
 Use this example before to say how important your role as grandparents are, for those that are grandparents.
 Because Josiah was Manasseh's grandson.
 
Manasseh's son, Josiah's father, only reigned for a couple of years, and he was a terrible king.
 But at the end of his life, those really early years of Josiah's life, those formative years, and we all know how important it is when a child is young to teach them properly.
 Because if we don't teach them when they're young, it's very hard to pull them back in line later.
 Again, what Scripture tells us.
 Josiah would have seen a repentant grandfather.
 He'd have heard of all the things that happened, but he'd have realized and seen what his grandfather, his grandfather was like.
 And I have no doubt that the reason Josiah turned out to be such a good king was because he had such an incredible witness for Manasseh, his grandfather, who had turned away from all that wickedness and that sin and turned from his transgressions.
 And effectively, God parlans him because he repents.
 
What an important role you have as grandparents to sow into the life of your grandchildren.
 Pray for them.
 Encourage them.
 Speak to them.
 Talk to them about things of God.
 
I've told you many times how influential my own gran was to me.
 And for those of you who have not heard before, but I used to get home from school, and this was back in the day when people had newspapers and things.
 Remember those? Well, I used to get to, she lived just literally down the road from us.
 I used to take the newspaper down to her at the end of the day.
 So I got home from school and I'd take the newspaper down to see gran.
 And she'd sit me down and she'd just talk to me about the Lord.
 And she'd just read to me from Oswald Chambers, from my atmosphere's highest, or just read scripture to me.
 And she had a picture in the back room of Jerusalem.
 And she used to talk to me and point out the things and look at the dome of the rock and the temple mount and tell me that one day the temple's going to be built there.
 You know, and I was, you know, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten years old.
 And she died when I was 14.
 But in those early years, what an impact she made.
 And, you know, when, as often happens when grandparents die, you know, you're given certain things.
 Well, I got, the one thing that was so special to me was her copy of my atmosphere's highest.
 I've still got it at home.
 I treasure it.
 And I've read it so many times.
 And there's still bits in there that she underlined and bits I remember her talking to me about, just trying to encourage me to walk a godly life.
 So again, I encourage you as grandparents, so into the life of your grandchildren, you may not think it's making any difference, but it really does.
 And you may not see the fruit right now, but in time.
 Verse 23 says, Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith the Lord, and not that he should return from his ways and live? See, God, just again, emphasizing, he doesn't want to crush us.
 He doesn't want to bring judgment upon us.
 But God is a just and a righteous God.
 And he cannot let iniquity go.
 He cannot let iniquity go unpunished.
 
There's no better analysis of the effects of the blood of Christ on a repentant soul than verse 22 here.
 That when we come and we repent, we place our faith and trust in Jesus, when we acknowledge that he has paid for our sin.
 
Again, all the things, the transgressions that we've committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him.
 It's gone.
 We were speaking at Bible study about that white stone that's spoken of in the book of Revelation.
 That white stone that in the court of law would mean acquittal.
 That you've been let go.
 The charges have been dropped against you.
 It's the white stone also that was typically given to somebody who'd won a race.
 And every one of those kind of understandings, it applies to us.
 Jesus says that we'll be given a white stone, and symbolically of speaking of the fact that we've been let go, that the court has ruled us not guilty because of Christ.
 That we have effectively won the race.
 
Again, it's only possible looking forward to the cross.
 The Old Testament system, the sacrificial system was temporary.
 You know, even the Jews at this time, those, Manasseh, any of them that repented, those that would have brought and offered sacrifices, it was still only temporary.
 Looking forward to the cross, that's where the forgiveness comes.
 That's where the acquittal comes.
 
Again, it's a gracious call to repentance.
 Chuck Missler said this, he said, the most precious word in the whole book of Ezekiel.
 Speaking of this verse, what it tells us.
 Speaking of verse 24, 
“but when the righteous turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that the wicked men do, the wicked man doeth, shall he live?”
 Okay, so this is spinning around.
 So what happens if you've got somebody who's seemingly lived a good life? Oh, well, there's some great examples of the kings of Israel that did this.
 I remember again, Chuck Missler, in the ???? 

commentaries, would often talk about finishing well.
 I've heard many other pastors say, you know, it's not so much the challenge as living as you're going through, but it's finishing well.
 It's finishing the race well.
 And you know what it's like, I mean, well, I say you know, I mean, I can't comment from experience, but imagine somebody running a race, you know, and that last part's the hard part, isn't it? And you've got to try and keep going.
 But it's, you know, you see when we see people doing marathons on television, again, I can only imagine what this is like.
 I've never done those things.
 But you know, that last part is so easy to say, I'm going to give up.
 
But in our Christian life, it's so important that we finish well.
 Because it's so easy to get disappointed.
 It's so easy to get discouraged and get worn out and get run down.
 Anyway, we go back to the verse, when the righteous turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? And it says, all his righteousness that he's done shall not be mentioned.
 In his trespass that he has trespassed and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.
 And we're talking about a righteous man, a good man, upright, moral, noble.
 Again, we're not talking about somebody who's saved and sanctified.
 That's never been the theme.
 That's never been the theme of this chapter.
 You see, if men perish, it's because they will not come to the Lord for salvation.
 Not that the Lord is not willing to save them.
 They trample on not merely justice, but mercy.
 And therefore, what further hope can there be for them, even when mercy is against them? Chuck Misler says this, he says, quoting these verses in similar passages, he says, have been understood by some that are committed to the Lord.
 And so, in this text, we see that the Christian may lose his righteous standing before God.
 But in support of the security of the believer, it should be observed that these passages in Ezekiel do not teach the eternal loss of the saved person, because the word righteous may refer to ceremonial religion and not the righteousness which is of God by faith.
 Moreover, the punishment threatened refers only to physical death rather than to eternal death.
 In any case, these texts in Ezekiel must be considered in the light of such New Testament texts, and not the divine law.
 John 10, Romans 5, 8, 9, and so on.
 Philippians 1, 6.
 So, they so clearly teach the security of the believer.
 00:43:10.180 --> 00:43:11.180 {{42m55}}
There's another big study all on its own there.
>>>>>>>>>>
This isn’t saying that somebody can lose their salvation, but it is saying that you can certainly, for Christians, you can lose your reward.  John tells us, in two John, “be careful that you don’t lose those things that you’ve worked for, but that you receive your full reward.” What does that tell us?
It tells us that you can lose your reward!.It tells us that as we go through our lives as Christians, we can do some wonderful things and we can lay up treasure in heaven.
Guess what – we can also undo that!

 
 00:43:33.160
 That doesn't affect our salvation, but we can certainly (???) lose rewards.

 The same principle applies.
 Verse 25, yet you say the way of the Lord is not equal.
 Hear now, the house of Israel, it's not my way equal, are not your ways unequal? What's he saying? It's the idea of equal is literally adjusted to the standard.
 All right.
 And this is the idea, you know, the saying God is not fair.
 We hear that so often today.
 Why would a good God allow whatever? And people challenge all the time.
 Why does God allow? Why would God do that? And this is what they would say.
 Well, God's not fair.
 God's bringing judgment upon us.
 It's not fair.
 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and dies in the prison of iniquity that he has done, shall he die? Again, when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed and does that which is lawful and right.
 Right.
 Right.
 He shall save his soul alive because he considered and turned away from all his transgressions that he's committed.
 He shall surely live.
 He shall not die.
 Yet saith the house of Israel, the way of the Lord is not equal.
 O house of Israel, are not my ways equal and not your ways unequal? God just reiterates that.
 Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel, everyone according to his ways, saith the Lord God.
 Repent and turn yourselves from all your transgressions and transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
 There can't be a more frightening proposition anywhere in Scripture than Ezekiel 18, verse 30.
 Because God is there.
 This is again, not speaking for those who know Christ.
 Our sin is paid for.
 All done.
 But for somebody who doesn't place their faith and trust in Jesus, this applies.
 Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel.
 The rest of you shall be judged according to your ways.
 Imagine being judged according to your ways.
 We know that at the great white throne judgment, right at the end, after the millennial reign of Christ, when all unbelievers are called up and called to stand before God, they will be judged according to their works.
 How scary is that? Because it doesn't matter how many good things they do, they're going to be judged according to their works.
 The more things you might have done, you've done way more that are bad.
 You're way more that you've done that's a contravention of the laws that God has stated and placed in motion from the Ten Commandments through the things that are written in our hearts, our conscience.
 And as we said before, even if you were to create your own list of rules, you'd break your own rules within a day.
 And the thought that we'll be judged or people will be judged according to their works.
 There's a really scary thought.
 It says, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions.
 Again, the Hebrew is kind of a play on words really here, just to emphasize the point.
 It's kind of turn and return.
 Your transgressions, so iniquity.
 The idea, again, not as being perfect.
 The idea is that you're moving away from those things.
 Repent and separate yourself from that.
 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby you have transgressed.
 And make you a new heart and a new spirit.
 But why would you die, O house of Israel? Now, of course, this isn't possible in the natural.
 We can't do that.
 We can't create a new heart in ourselves.
 We can't give ourselves a new spirit.
 This is, of course, all looking forward to what is to come.
 Again, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies, says the Lord.
 Wherefore, turn yourselves and live in him.
 Everyone, stand alone.
 Stand before God.
 Not based upon somebody else.
 You can't blame it on your environment or your upbringing or whatever else.
 The teaching of this chapter answers the new psychology, if you like, that we have today, which argues that a person is the way they are through no fault of their own.
 It's because of where they were born, or it's because of the parenting, or it's because of their social situation.
 It's always something else.
 And the world today tries to remove this idea of personal accountability, of personal responsibility.
 We can blame this, we can blame that.
 It's not our fault.
 But here, Ezekiel God sets the record straight.
 You're a sinner because you're a sinner yourself.
 We are sinners that have fallen short of the glory of God.
 There is none that's righteous, no, not one, is what we're told in the book of Romans.
 And so, I think that's a very important point.
 
 And God is emphasizing that everyone, I mean, particularly in the picture here, he's speaking of Israel, but it's true of the whole world.
 Everyone is in that place of being a sinner before God.
 And every individual will stand before God and won't be able to blame parents or anything else at that time.
 Ezekiel makes it very clear that the Israelites will be judged in this life on the basis of the life that they've lived, whether they were a believer or not.
 Now, of course, for us, we don't have to be judged according to the way we've lived our lives if we put our faith and trust in Jesus.
 The New Testament comes with this new covenant, this new agreement that's based upon the blood of Christ.
 This chapter emphasizes that the moment a person turns from their own sin to God, the past, even their own past, no longer determines their standing before God.
 And the idea, again, of this generational curse, that teaching is prevalent, certainly in charismatic and Pentecostal circles, the idea that you're somehow legally bound by a demon or a curse because your grandfather was a Freemason or whatever else, is rebutted here.
 God doesn't judge you because of what your parents did.
 We stand before God as individuals.
 And, of course, we know that in Galatians 3.
13, even if a curse did exist, when we come to Christ, we're told that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Lord, becoming a curse for us.
 He took it all upon himself.
 Therefore, for a believer to say, well, I'm cursed by an ancestor's sin, would imply that Christ's work was insufficient.
 And remember what we're told in the book of Romans.
 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
 No condemnation.
 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
 Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature.
 Old things are passed away.
 Behold, all things are become new.
 See, the wonderful thing about the gospel, even more than Ezekiel understood or knew at that time or had been revealed at that time, the picture here is painted that they were responsible for their own sin, that the judgment that's coming upon Jerusalem, they deserved it.
 Because of their iniquity, let alone what had happened in the past.
 And of course, the plea that God has is they turn from that, that they walk in a godly way.
 But that couldn't purge the conscience.
 Whereas Christ, through his blood, can purge the very conscience.
 And we become white.
 We become clean.
 And this is why these verses in the New Testament
 are so precious.
 This is far more than God is speaking to the Jews at that time about the life.
 This is speaking about eternal life now.
 And this is what we have.
 Let's leave it there.
 We'll pick it up, verse 19, which concludes this little section next week, and then we'll go on from there.
 Let's bow our hearts.
 Father, we thank you for your word.
 We thank you for these things that remind us of our own personal responsibility.
 They remind us, Lord, that we can't blame others for the way things are.
 But Lord, beyond all of that, we thank you that there's something that you have revealed in your word that Ezekiel at that time and others didn't fully comprehend.
 That there will be a time when you would create in those who are willing to repent a new heart and place a new spirit within them.
 Lord, you have made that promise to the nation of Israel.
 And that promise is for each one of us through Christ.
 That regardless of what has happened in the past, regardless of what we've thought or said or done, we can be made completely clean.
 And as Jude reminds us in the New Testament, that you are able to present us faultless before the throne of God.
 We just thank you for the one, the wonder of the gospel, for the joy that they should fill our hearts as we think of these things.
 Lord, stir us as we meditate and think on these things.
 We ask in Jesus' name.
 Amen.

 Okay, may God richly bless you as we spend some time fellowshipping over some teas and coffees.
 
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We're into Ezekiel chapter 18, and we'll get into the text in just a moment.

00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:15.980
Just to give you another kind of overview, I think sometimes it can be helpful just to get a picture in our heads of what's going on historically and so on.

00:00:16.460 --> 00:00:25.760
If we look at the timeline that we're dealing with, David ruled around about a thousand years before Jesus came.

00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:30.420
So about a thousand B.C., and then obviously Solomon followed him and reigned for 40 years.

00:00:31.200 --> 00:00:35.800
And then the kingdom divides into the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom, and we go down.

00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:43.040
So the timeline shown here, about 850 B.C., so kind of some way into the kings at that point, about 150 years into the kings,

00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:49.300
about 100 years into the divided kingdom, as it were, and all the way down through here, down to about 450.

00:00:49.580 --> 00:00:51.460
So that's kind of the timeframe we're looking at.

00:00:51.980 --> 00:00:53.260
We're looking at the kings of Israel.

00:00:53.400 --> 00:00:55.740
They're just some of the ones that reigned for the longest time.

00:00:56.379 --> 00:00:58.379
Some of these kings we recognize the names of.

00:00:59.120 --> 00:01:00.860
Jehoram, not a particularly good king.

00:01:01.239 --> 00:01:03.879
Jehu could have been good, but wasn't.

00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:08.640
Jehoaz, Jehosh, Jeroboam II, another terrible king.

00:01:09.080 --> 00:01:12.840
In fact, all the kings of the northern kingdom were dreadful.

00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:14.240
They were ungodly.

00:01:14.539 --> 00:01:16.340
There's not one good king amongst them.

00:01:16.340 --> 00:01:21.360
And, of course, that ultimately leads to the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C.

00:01:21.360 --> 00:01:25.300
That's when the Assyrian army comes, lays siege, and then eventually,

00:01:25.300 --> 00:01:27.640
the northern kingdom is taken away captive.

00:01:28.520 --> 00:01:30.979
The kings of Judah don't fare much better, truthfully,

00:01:31.479 --> 00:01:35.500
and right the way down from Rehoboam, Solomon's son,

00:01:36.080 --> 00:01:39.360
all the way down through to Zedekiah, the last king you can see here.

00:01:40.220 --> 00:01:43.460
There's only five good kings in the whole of the northern kingdom.

00:01:44.080 --> 00:01:45.240
The rest of them were awful.

00:01:45.860 --> 00:01:48.860
But there's a few that were good, and two that stand out for us,

00:01:48.880 --> 00:01:49.679
that we're interested in.

00:01:50.060 --> 00:01:52.420
Particularly Hezekiah here was a good king.

00:01:52.420 --> 00:01:54.200
We'll be mentioning him a little bit this morning.

00:01:55.300 --> 00:01:58.119
And then Josiah also was a good king.

00:01:58.119 --> 00:01:59.979
We'll see a little bit of this.

00:01:59.979 --> 00:02:03.620
In between these two, we've got Manasseh.

00:02:03.620 --> 00:02:05.340
Manasseh was awful.

00:02:05.340 --> 00:02:10.259
He was probably the worst of the bunch and did so many dreadful things,

00:02:10.259 --> 00:02:11.540
committed so many atrocities.

00:02:11.540 --> 00:02:14.019
It really was a very dark period.

00:02:14.019 --> 00:02:18.060
And we'll be referencing him a little bit in the study this morning as we go through.

00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:23.880
Joel is believed by many commentators to be the first of the prophets,

00:02:23.880 --> 00:02:25.180
those that are recorded in Scripture.

00:02:25.180 --> 00:02:28.740
As in the ones we have books of the prophets.

00:02:28.740 --> 00:02:33.180
And Joel kind of sets the tone of all the prophetic books.

00:02:33.180 --> 00:02:37.500
Joel is incredible because in these few short chapters,

00:02:37.500 --> 00:02:40.380
he encompasses so much of history.

00:02:40.380 --> 00:02:44.860
And of course, he's quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost and so on.

00:02:44.860 --> 00:02:50.020
But the message is the one of the coming Redeemer, the Messiah.

00:02:50.020 --> 00:02:55.060
And it also is speaking of the restoration of the nation of Israel.

00:02:55.180 --> 00:02:59.460
And really, all the other prophets draw from these few short chapters of Joel.

00:02:59.460 --> 00:03:04.740
And then so much of what they say is really expounding more of what Joel said.

00:03:04.740 --> 00:03:08.500
And then all the other prophets come from him, the other minor prophets,

00:03:08.500 --> 00:03:09.860
particularly that we're looking at there.

00:03:09.860 --> 00:03:14.100
You can see ending, of course, with Malachi, the last of the prophets in the Old Testament.

00:03:14.100 --> 00:03:16.980
And then we've got the ones we call the major prophets.

00:03:16.980 --> 00:03:20.380
The minor prophets only because the books are shorter, not because they're less significant.

00:03:20.380 --> 00:03:23.300
But the ones we consider as the major prophets.

00:03:23.300 --> 00:03:23.940
Isaiah.

00:03:23.940 --> 00:03:24.580
What an incredible prophet.

00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:24.980
Yeah.

00:03:24.980 --> 00:03:25.500
Incredible book.

00:03:25.500 --> 00:03:26.500
Sixty-six chapters.

00:03:26.500 --> 00:03:28.899
It's kind of like a mini Bible all in itself.

00:03:28.899 --> 00:03:31.739
And interestingly, split into like an Old Testament and a New Testament,

00:03:31.739 --> 00:03:34.780
the way that the information is given to us.

00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:38.100
There's so much in there about the days in which we're living.

00:03:38.100 --> 00:03:41.500
But also these incredible prophecies, particularly Isaiah 53.

00:03:41.500 --> 00:03:47.500
This incredible chapter that speaks of the Messiah coming as this suffering servant

00:03:47.500 --> 00:03:51.579
who would give his life, that the wrath of God would be poured upon him.

00:03:51.579 --> 00:03:53.220
So much in the book of Isaiah.

00:03:53.220 --> 00:03:54.620
We kind of studied that through it.

00:03:54.620 --> 00:03:57.380
We did a Bible study a little while ago as we do the book of Jeremiah.

00:03:57.380 --> 00:04:04.740
Jeremiah is one of my favorite prophets because he just doesn't succeed at anything.

00:04:04.740 --> 00:04:10.740
And I kind of relate to that in as much as the way the world looks at us for success,

00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:12.740
we can't be measured that way.

00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:17.380
You know, Jeremiah didn't really convert anybody or convince anybody.

00:04:17.380 --> 00:04:18.380
Everybody hated him.

00:04:18.380 --> 00:04:21.660
All he did was speak the words that God gave him.

00:04:21.660 --> 00:04:23.740
Even his own family wanted to kill him.

00:04:23.740 --> 00:04:24.420
But what?

00:04:24.420 --> 00:04:25.420
He was a man.

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And you see, what we see with Jeremiah is that it doesn't matter what the results are.

00:04:33.300 --> 00:04:36.720
What matters is obedience.

00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:41.180
You see, so often in Christian life, we talk about success.

00:04:41.180 --> 00:04:44.180
You know, and it's interesting at the pastors conference a few weeks back.

00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:46.400
And of course, it's a natural question.

00:04:46.400 --> 00:04:50.820
Other pastors were coming up and saying, you know, how's the fellowship going?

00:04:50.820 --> 00:04:54.220
And we can't help when we kind of ask or answer those questions.

00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:58.220
And we can't help when we think about it in terms of success.

00:04:58.220 --> 00:05:01.220
But the real answer is not one of success.

00:05:01.220 --> 00:05:02.220
It's one of obedience.

00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:03.220
Are we being obedient?

00:05:03.220 --> 00:05:08.020
I've said many times, yeah, we should remove success, the words from success, from the

00:05:08.020 --> 00:05:09.020
Christian dictionary.

00:05:09.020 --> 00:05:11.720
It doesn't matter whether we're successful.

00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:12.720
Are we obedient?

00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:16.520
And Jeremiah, well, he was obedient.

00:05:16.520 --> 00:05:18.840
Incredible trials that he went through.

00:05:18.840 --> 00:05:20.220
But he was faithful to God.

00:05:20.220 --> 00:05:21.220
And that's what really matters.

00:05:21.220 --> 00:05:22.220
And of course, we've then got Daniel, another one.

00:05:22.220 --> 00:05:23.220
The very first one.

00:05:23.220 --> 00:05:24.220
The very first one.

00:05:24.220 --> 00:05:25.220
Very, very similar.

00:05:25.220 --> 00:05:26.220
What an incredible life Daniel was.

00:05:26.220 --> 00:05:29.220
And there's nothing bad spoken of Daniel.

00:05:29.220 --> 00:05:34.220
One of the few characters in scripture of which there's no bad thing spoken about him.

00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:35.220
I mean, even Jeremiah.

00:05:35.220 --> 00:05:39.220
I mean, he groans and moans and complains and so on.

00:05:39.220 --> 00:05:42.220
But Daniel, we never read of anything negative.

00:05:42.220 --> 00:05:43.220
Joseph was another character.

00:05:43.220 --> 00:05:48.220
Very much Christ-like is the way they're portrayed to us.

00:05:48.220 --> 00:05:52.220
And then we get to the fall of Babylon.

00:05:52.220 --> 00:05:53.220
We're in this period of time.

00:05:53.220 --> 00:05:55.220
The Babylon is in the ascendancy at the moment.

00:05:55.220 --> 00:05:58.220
And of course, Ezekiel has been taken away to Babylon.

00:05:58.220 --> 00:06:01.220
But that only lasted a short period of history.

00:06:01.220 --> 00:06:08.220
From about 612 BC, the first siege of Jerusalem was in 606 BC.

00:06:08.220 --> 00:06:11.220
And that's when Nebuchadnezzar comes to the throne.

00:06:11.220 --> 00:06:15.220
He becomes the king ruling over the whole empire.

00:06:15.220 --> 00:06:20.220
But then Babylon falls only a few years later, really, in 539 BC.

00:06:20.220 --> 00:06:22.220
That's when the Persian army of Saul, the king of the Babylonians, falls.

00:06:22.220 --> 00:06:27.220
And the Persian army of Cyrus takes Babylon in the nighttime,

00:06:27.220 --> 00:06:32.220
without a battle, without a struggle, just as had been prophesied in Isaiah.

00:06:32.220 --> 00:06:35.220
And then a couple of years, two years after that,

00:06:35.220 --> 00:06:39.220
or certainly within two years of that, in 537,

00:06:39.220 --> 00:06:42.220
that's when the exiles get to return home.

00:06:42.220 --> 00:06:46.220
So those that have been taken away, including, let's say, the likes of Ezekiel, Daniel.

00:06:46.220 --> 00:06:50.220
We don't know about Ezekiel, but Daniel we know didn't go back.

00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:51.220
But by that point, he's a man way into his 80s.

00:06:52.220 --> 00:06:55.220
And he chooses to stay in Babylon, as many did.

00:06:55.220 --> 00:06:58.220
But about 50,000 Jews did go back.

00:06:58.220 --> 00:07:01.220
Only a small number, but they did go back.

00:07:01.220 --> 00:07:05.220
And of course, then the temple is rebuilt in about 515 BC.

00:07:05.220 --> 00:07:08.220
And then the walls again, that command by Artaxerxes,

00:07:08.220 --> 00:07:11.220
along with Eumenes in 444 BC and so on.

00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:16.220
Ezra and Nehemiah are the books that really detail that period of history as well.

00:07:16.220 --> 00:07:21.220
And so the bit that we're really focusing on now is from about 593 to 574 BC.

00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:26.220
This time when Ezekiel is prophesying to the captives.

00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:29.220
Again, we said he was expecting to grow up and become a priest.

00:07:29.220 --> 00:07:31.220
He's of the tribe of Levi.

00:07:31.220 --> 00:07:33.220
But God has a different mission for him, a different plan.

00:07:33.220 --> 00:07:38.220
And that's to be this watchman, this voice to the nation.

00:07:38.220 --> 00:07:42.220
As an introduction to this chapter this morning, then, just remind ourselves,

00:07:42.220 --> 00:07:49.220
chapter 14, we get this prophecy against the idolatry of the elders that will obey back in Jerusalem.

00:07:49.220 --> 00:07:51.220
Ezekiel's in the land of Babylon.

00:07:51.220 --> 00:07:53.220
And he's prophesying against those.

00:07:53.220 --> 00:07:55.220
And he kind of has this vision, seeing all that's going on.

00:07:55.220 --> 00:07:59.220
But emphasizing the certainty of the destruction.

00:07:59.220 --> 00:08:01.220
They didn't believe Jerusalem could be destroyed.

00:08:01.220 --> 00:08:03.220
It was a city that David had ruled over.

00:08:03.220 --> 00:08:05.220
And they were arrogant.

00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:11.220
But then Ezekiel emphasizes the fact that it will be destroyed by three parables.

00:08:11.220 --> 00:08:14.220
And this is what we saw in chapter 15 with the parable of the worthless vine.

00:08:14.220 --> 00:08:17.220
Chapter 16, that parable of the abandoned baby.

00:08:17.220 --> 00:08:21.220
And then chapter 17, we saw the parable of the two eagles and the vine.

00:08:21.220 --> 00:08:22.220
And so on.

00:08:22.220 --> 00:08:29.220
As we go into chapter 18, we're going to see that the verdict that God has pronounced is justified.

00:08:29.220 --> 00:08:33.220
And it's interesting because we're going to see here typical arguments that the world will put out.

00:08:33.220 --> 00:08:36.220
The complaints that the world has about God.

00:08:36.220 --> 00:08:39.220
About whether God's fair or not fair and so on.

00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:47.220
And we're going to see that God is making the case that he's absolutely justified in bringing this judgment upon the nation of Israel.

00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:51.220
Or the nation of Judah, which is all that's left of the overall nation.

00:08:51.220 --> 00:08:57.220
Israel seemingly was starting to listen to Ezekiel.

00:08:57.220 --> 00:09:03.220
At least maybe considering that what he was saying actually could happen.

00:09:03.220 --> 00:09:08.220
And again, those last few chapters, 15 to 17, have seemingly got their attention.

00:09:08.220 --> 00:09:15.220
But as is typical of human nature, they try to justify themselves and shift the blame.

00:09:15.220 --> 00:09:20.220
You know, it's like, well, if God is going to do this and bring judgment, it's not our fault.

00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:22.220
It's kind of the idea.

00:09:22.220 --> 00:09:27.220
And it's been said many times that our sin always looks worse on someone else.

00:09:27.220 --> 00:09:30.220
You know, we see someone doing something, we think, that's terrible.

00:09:30.220 --> 00:09:33.220
And we recognize actually that those things existed in us.

00:09:33.220 --> 00:09:35.220
But it always seems worse when somebody else does it.

00:09:35.220 --> 00:09:39.220
Because we try and justify it. We try and rationalize why it's not actually that bad.

00:09:39.220 --> 00:09:43.220
And effectively, their argument here that we see is this.

00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:47.220
If God were to bring judgment, it's not our fault.

00:09:47.220 --> 00:09:49.220
We're just the victims, is what they were saying.

00:09:50.220 --> 00:09:56.220
And support this, they quote a well-known proverb to, if you like, prove their innocence.

00:09:56.220 --> 00:10:02.220
The concept that they'd invoked, if you like, both from the proverb that they quote and from the Torah,

00:10:02.220 --> 00:10:07.220
was that the iniquity of the fathers was being visited upon the children.

00:10:07.220 --> 00:10:10.220
So they're going to use that as an excuse to say, in effect,

00:10:10.220 --> 00:10:15.220
OK, you're judging us, but you're judging us for the sins of the fathers.

00:10:15.220 --> 00:10:19.220
And we see that this chapter there is a rebuttal to their argument.

00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:25.220
God's going to emphasize that these people are going to be judged for their personal sin.

00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:28.220
Yeah, their fathers had committed all sorts of atrocities.

00:10:28.220 --> 00:10:31.220
And yes, that was in part the reason for the judgment.

00:10:31.220 --> 00:10:34.220
But that didn't excuse them.

00:10:34.220 --> 00:10:41.220
And it's also a lesson for us in misapplying scripture to support our cause.

00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:43.220
And that happens way too often.

00:10:43.220 --> 00:10:47.220
You don't have to accept all the things that are going on in your life.

00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:51.220
You don't have to accept or believe the Bible.

00:10:51.220 --> 00:10:53.220
It's really simple. You don't have to believe it.

00:10:53.220 --> 00:10:55.220
We have a choice.

00:10:55.220 --> 00:11:00.220
I mean, I would argue that there's overwhelming evidence to support everything that's in the Bible.

00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:04.220
Every aspect of it, historically, scientifically, mathematically.

00:11:04.220 --> 00:11:07.220
There's all sorts of wonderful patterns and hidden things in hidden texts

00:11:07.220 --> 00:11:13.220
that demonstrate that it's way beyond just the ability of man to have written these words and these pages.

00:11:13.220 --> 00:11:16.220
So I think there's really credible arguments

00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:23.220
to support the historicity, the factual basis for everything that we find in the Bible.

00:11:23.220 --> 00:11:27.220
But if you do accept the Bible, it's all or nothing.

00:11:27.220 --> 00:11:31.220
You don't get to pick and choose the bits that you want and the bits that you don't want.

00:11:31.220 --> 00:11:34.220
You don't get to choose your own personal theology.

00:11:34.220 --> 00:11:37.220
Theology is just the study of God.

00:11:37.220 --> 00:11:42.220
And look, we can deduce certain things about God simply by looking at the world around us.

00:11:42.220 --> 00:11:45.220
You know, looking at creation, conscience, the design of the universe.

00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:48.220
And there's things that we can deduce from that.

00:11:48.220 --> 00:11:52.220
And those things are available to everyone, everywhere.

00:11:52.220 --> 00:11:55.220
And those things tell us that God is powerful, creative.

00:11:55.220 --> 00:11:59.220
There's an orderly creator we just see from the things we see around us.

00:11:59.220 --> 00:12:02.220
And you've got to look at the symmetry that we see in nature.

00:12:02.220 --> 00:12:06.220
You look at a butterfly or any creature.

00:12:06.220 --> 00:12:13.220
But it doesn't tell us his name, his history, or his plan for salvation.

00:12:13.220 --> 00:12:14.220
And many theologians say, well, God is a creature.

00:12:14.220 --> 00:12:18.220
And many theologians argue that nature is a little bit like a silhouette.

00:12:18.220 --> 00:12:22.220
You can make out the shape, but you can't see the face.

00:12:22.220 --> 00:12:28.220
But all we really know about God comes from the Bible.

00:12:28.220 --> 00:12:32.220
That's why we don't get to just pick and choose the bits we like and dislike.

00:12:32.220 --> 00:12:39.220
All we know about God's character, his promises, the specific commands, and the specific promises, and so on.

00:12:39.220 --> 00:12:42.220
John Calvin famously used the metaphor of the story of the soul.

00:12:42.220 --> 00:12:43.220
John Calvin famously used the metaphor of the story of the soul.

00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:48.220
He argued that sin has made our eyesight blurry.

00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:52.220
He argued that sin has made our eyesight blurry.

00:12:52.220 --> 00:12:57.220
And when we look at the world, we see beauty, but we also see confusion and suffering.

00:12:57.220 --> 00:13:03.220
But when we put on the spectacles of the Bible, the blurred images of the world come into sharp focus.

00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:09.220
And we finally understand why the world is beautiful and why it's broken.

00:13:09.220 --> 00:13:12.220
Interestingly, there are many who are critical of the Bible.

00:13:12.220 --> 00:13:15.220
They don't like the things the Bible says.

00:13:15.220 --> 00:13:19.220
And it's like a man looking at these glasses not wearing the glasses.

00:13:19.220 --> 00:13:22.220
Everything is blurry.

00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:28.220
But I love that idea that you put on the spectacles of the Bible and everything starts to make sense.

00:13:28.220 --> 00:13:38.220
I remember some time ago, I think it was John McCarthy, was held hostage in Beirut.

00:13:38.220 --> 00:13:40.220
And he made the comment that when he was there, all he was given to read was a cup of wine.

00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:41.220
And he made the comment that when he was there, all he was given to read was a cup of wine.

00:13:41.220 --> 00:13:43.220
And he made the comment that when he was there, all he was given to read was a cup of wine.

00:13:43.220 --> 00:13:50.220
And he started reading the Bible and he got through into the Torah and started reading these accounts of the battles and so on.

00:13:50.220 --> 00:13:53.220
And he just thought, well, if that's what God's like, I want nothing to do with him.

00:13:53.220 --> 00:13:55.220
And that was his conclusion.

00:13:55.220 --> 00:13:57.220
If only he had read on.

00:13:57.220 --> 00:14:03.220
If only he had got to the Gospels and understood that this world is a messed up place.

00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:10.220
And that there were reasons why God told the Israelites to wipe out those tribes that were in the land of Canaan.

00:14:10.220 --> 00:14:13.220
They weren't ordinary tribes of people.

00:14:13.220 --> 00:14:17.220
I mean, firstly, they were given over to all sorts of sin.

00:14:17.220 --> 00:14:20.220
But there was demonic things going on.

00:14:20.220 --> 00:14:24.220
Genesis 6 gives us an insight into some of that.

00:14:24.220 --> 00:14:31.220
When you look at things through the lens of Scripture, everything starts to make a bit more sense.

00:14:31.220 --> 00:14:38.220
And that's why we have got to be very careful when we just take a little bit without looking at the bigger picture.

00:14:38.220 --> 00:14:42.220
The more we understand, the more it all starts to make sense.

00:14:42.220 --> 00:14:51.220
And what God is going to do here through Ezekiel is emphasize the Jews' personal responsibility.

00:14:51.220 --> 00:14:55.220
They were getting judged for their sin.

00:14:55.220 --> 00:15:01.220
And he's going to use several examples in a rebuttal of the hereditary arguments that they're trying to use.

00:15:01.220 --> 00:15:06.220
And again, the whole idea of personal responsibility is not a new idea.

00:15:06.220 --> 00:15:07.220
Ezekiel has already addressed it back in chapter 3.

00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:09.220
And chapter 14.

00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:14.220
And we find it back in Deuteronomy 24, 2 Kings and so on.

00:15:14.220 --> 00:15:24.220
But notice that we do hear a lot in some of the parts of the church today about this idea of ancestral sin or hereditary curses.

00:15:24.220 --> 00:15:27.220
I'm sure you've heard people talk about these things.

00:15:27.220 --> 00:15:30.220
Well, this chapter becomes a must read on that basis.

00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:32.220
Let's jump in and have a look at the text.

00:15:32.220 --> 00:15:35.220
We read chapter 18, picking up verse 1.

00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:38.220
The word of the Lord came unto me again.

00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:50.220
Saying, What mean ye that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?

00:15:50.220 --> 00:16:03.220
Now back in Exodus chapter 20, verse 5, and also in Deuteronomy 5, verse 9, God describes himself as punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me.

00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:05.220
That's effectively what we're told.

00:16:05.220 --> 00:16:06.220
And so we find that the Israelites took this warning about this.

00:16:06.220 --> 00:16:07.220
And so we find that the Israelites took this warning about this.

00:16:07.220 --> 00:16:11.220
This warning about the long-term consequences of idol worship and so on.

00:16:11.220 --> 00:16:15.220
And they turn it into a rigid, fatalistic rule.

00:16:15.220 --> 00:16:22.220
They believe that they were essentially locked in to a destiny written by their ancestors.

00:16:22.220 --> 00:16:26.220
And again, the same kind of idea we see in the church.

00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:35.220
We see those that will say, Well, my forefathers were involved in this or that or whatever else, be it freemasonry or something or something or something or witchcraft back in the line.

00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:36.220
And they say, Well, I don't know.

00:16:36.220 --> 00:16:37.220
I don't know what to do with myself or what to do with my family.

00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:38.220
I don't know what to do with myself or what to do with my family.

00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:39.220
And they say, Well, I don't know.

00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:40.220
I don't know what to do with myself or what to do with my family.

00:16:40.220 --> 00:16:41.220
So there's a curse on me, and so on.

00:16:41.220 --> 00:16:42.220
And we'll talk about those things as we go through.

00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:45.220
But this is all part and parcel of that whole picture.

00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:51.220
And we see how deep-rooted this idea had become.

00:16:51.220 --> 00:16:53.220
And Jeremiah highlights it twice.

00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:57.220
In Jeremiah 31, verse 29, he says, In those days they shall say no more.

00:16:57.220 --> 00:17:02.220
So he's saying there's going to come a day when they won't really use this argument.

00:17:02.220 --> 00:17:04.220
The fathers have eaten of sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge.

00:17:04.220 --> 00:17:05.220
You know what?

00:17:05.220 --> 00:17:09.940
And then in Lamentations, also written by Jeremiah, in chapter 5, verse 7,

00:17:10.220 --> 00:17:16.640
You see, they use the same example again.

00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:23.220
But the point of these passages was the effects of sin are serious and long-lasting.

00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:29.480
Not that God capriciously punishes the innocent for their ancestors' evil ways.

00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:37.380
There are consequences that are sometimes experienced by future generations.

00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:40.920
I mean, look, this country has made some awful decisions.

00:17:42.020 --> 00:17:46.100
And we are suffering from the result of some of the decisions that have been made.

00:17:47.600 --> 00:17:51.140
We've given up a lot of the freedoms that we once had.

00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:52.900
And so we suffer.

00:17:53.260 --> 00:17:56.440
And the generations to come, the world terrorists will also suffer.

00:17:56.920 --> 00:17:58.300
In Israel, we're the same.

00:17:58.580 --> 00:17:59.440
There have been many mistakes.

00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:02.420
And they impact future generations.

00:18:02.600 --> 00:18:05.880
So in that sense, this is what these scriptures are referring to.

00:18:06.740 --> 00:18:09.080
Particularly the ones from Deuteronomy, Exodus, and so on.

00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:18.420
But to say that we're punished through no fault of our own because of something our fathers did is just not scriptural.

00:18:21.320 --> 00:18:27.680
So the issue here is that the proverb they derived from these verses was simply incorrect.

00:18:28.520 --> 00:18:29.400
It's a danger.

00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:33.020
It's a danger, again, of lifting a verse out of scripture without considering the context.

00:18:33.740 --> 00:18:36.860
Again, the fathers ate the grapes and the children paid the penalty is the idea.

00:18:37.600 --> 00:18:47.660
And it's true to a certain extent that God judges the individual, father or son, according to their own conduct.

00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:58.880
And there's a distinction between legal, if you like, personal guilt and the practical consequences that go with decisions that are made.

00:18:58.880 --> 00:18:59.320
That then will...

00:18:59.320 --> 00:19:01.240
And will affect future generations.

00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:11.080
But note also that these aren't speaking of judgments for eternal life, but a judgment in this life, according to as a man obeys or disobeys.

00:19:13.280 --> 00:19:21.919
The generation that were in exile, including, of course, Ezekiel, look back at the horrific reign of King Manasseh that I mentioned briefly earlier.

00:19:22.840 --> 00:19:27.419
And he practiced all sorts of things, but including child sacrifice and gross idolatry.

00:19:28.320 --> 00:19:29.320
And the failures of...

00:19:29.320 --> 00:19:29.439
And the failures of...

00:19:29.439 --> 00:19:34.120
Their fathers were well known to those in exile.

00:19:34.780 --> 00:19:41.300
And so they concluded that God was finally settling the bill, if you like, for the last 400 years of failure.

00:19:41.460 --> 00:19:43.399
I mean, you could argue almost a thousand years, really.

00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:47.939
And the idea they had was that, well, they just seem to be the ones left holding the bill.

00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:51.639
They've got to pay, but it wasn't really their fault.

00:19:52.980 --> 00:19:56.320
And seemingly the same way we have with the modern Jews.

00:19:57.040 --> 00:19:59.300
There's an underlying idea that it was...

00:19:59.439 --> 00:20:02.540
The sins of their forefathers, not their own.

00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:06.120
That God is bringing judgment upon them for.

00:20:06.780 --> 00:20:13.820
Again, you can compare Genesis 3.12, where Adam transfers the blame of his sin to Eve and even to God.

00:20:14.280 --> 00:20:17.800
He says, the woman who now gave his to me, she gave me the tree and I did it.

00:20:18.159 --> 00:20:20.399
You know, it's the woman that you gave me.

00:20:20.760 --> 00:20:21.720
It's your fault, God.

00:20:23.159 --> 00:20:24.020
We do that.

00:20:24.080 --> 00:20:25.240
We try and squirm out.

00:20:25.320 --> 00:20:26.939
We try to always make it someone else's fault.

00:20:27.060 --> 00:20:27.980
It's much better with us.

00:20:29.320 --> 00:20:35.419
In Ezekiel 18, which we're looking at, and also in Jeremiah 31,

00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:40.139
this proverb is used, in a sense, as a bit of a psychological shield.

00:20:41.780 --> 00:20:46.639
Again, the fathers at the grapes, the exiles were effectively saying,

00:20:47.139 --> 00:20:48.860
this isn't our fault.

00:20:49.860 --> 00:20:51.879
God's being unfair or unjust.

00:20:52.879 --> 00:20:57.679
And really what they're saying is, well, repentance is useless because the curse is already in motion.

00:20:58.639 --> 00:20:59.300
And the problem is,

00:20:59.320 --> 00:21:02.840
of course, what they were then saying is, well, we might as well carry on doing what we're doing anyway.

00:21:03.520 --> 00:21:05.960
If we're going to get judged for it, we might as well get told off for it.

00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:09.320
Sorry, if we're going to get told off for it, we might as well do the things.

00:21:10.939 --> 00:21:14.360
I'm sure you've all had that kind of experience with a child at some point.

00:21:15.100 --> 00:21:17.040
If they think they're going to get told off, well, you know.

00:21:18.679 --> 00:21:19.540
Verse 3 goes on.

00:21:19.620 --> 00:21:19.760
It says,

00:21:19.760 --> 00:21:25.919
As I live, says the Lord God, you shall not have occasion anymore to use this proverb in Israel.

00:21:27.179 --> 00:21:28.200
It's an interesting statement.

00:21:28.320 --> 00:21:29.280
God uses that expression.

00:21:29.320 --> 00:21:30.460
As I live.

00:21:30.580 --> 00:21:32.179
That's how certain this is.

00:21:32.220 --> 00:21:33.560
No doubt that God exists.

00:21:33.639 --> 00:21:34.060
God lives.

00:21:36.080 --> 00:21:40.220
The word live or some form of it occurs 13 times in this chapter.

00:21:40.600 --> 00:21:42.980
And the word die occurs 14 times.

00:21:43.320 --> 00:21:45.360
It's a chapter about living and dying.

00:21:46.260 --> 00:21:49.360
But not in an eternal life and death kind of situation.

00:21:49.439 --> 00:21:50.720
That's not what God's talking about here.

00:21:51.260 --> 00:21:56.439
Notice that Jesus in John 10.10 tells us that he came to give us abundant life here and now.

00:21:57.200 --> 00:21:59.179
You know, we can choose to live.

00:21:59.320 --> 00:22:04.340
We can choose to live in a state of life or in a state of death.

00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:08.260
Those who don't know Christ are effectively living to die.

00:22:09.520 --> 00:22:13.560
But Jesus wants us to have an abundant life, to truly live.

00:22:14.560 --> 00:22:20.320
And a lot of this depends upon our perspective and our position and our relationship with God.

00:22:21.320 --> 00:22:22.080
Verse 4 goes on.

00:22:22.080 --> 00:22:23.080
Behold, all souls are mine.

00:22:23.080 --> 00:22:26.080
As the soul of the Father, so also the soul of the Son is mine.

00:22:26.080 --> 00:22:28.379
The soul that sinned, it shall die.

00:22:28.380 --> 00:22:29.120
Firstly, notice this.

00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:31.140
Behold, all souls are mine.

00:22:32.100 --> 00:22:33.840
This is reminding me of what we read in Romans 9.

00:22:34.520 --> 00:22:35.440
Picking up verse 20.

00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:39.640
Nay, but O man, who art thou that thou repliest against God?

00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:45.060
Shall the thing form, say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus?

00:22:45.840 --> 00:22:52.200
Hast not the potter power over the clay of the same lamp to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour?

00:22:52.320 --> 00:22:57.500
What if God willing to show his wrath and to make his power known in Jude with much long suffering,

00:22:57.500 --> 00:23:00.920
the vessels of wrath fitted to distraction?

00:23:01.560 --> 00:23:03.640
You see, God is sovereign.

00:23:03.640 --> 00:23:05.640
He can do whatever he wants.

00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:07.640
He doesn't ask our permission.

00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:10.260
He doesn't check that it's OK with us if we...

00:23:10.260 --> 00:23:12.260
No. God is sovereign.

00:23:12.260 --> 00:23:15.720
Again that verse tells us, behold all souls are mine.

00:23:19.020 --> 00:23:21.920
Notice also the statement.

00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:24.640
That the soul that sins, it shall die.

00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:26.640
Now God is speaking of the way in which he


00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:29.660
judges individuals in this life.

00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:33.060
And we need to look at this entire chapter from that vantage point.

00:23:33.420 --> 00:23:35.780
Every man shall be put to death for their own sin.

00:23:36.780 --> 00:23:38.960
The father shall not be put to death for the children,

00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:41.380
neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers.

00:23:41.600 --> 00:23:43.460
Every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

00:23:43.540 --> 00:23:45.700
That's what Deuteronomy 24, 16 tells us.

00:23:45.940 --> 00:23:47.700
So this isn't just an isolated chapter,

00:23:48.020 --> 00:23:49.760
it's a recurring theme through Scripture.

00:23:52.860 --> 00:23:56.200
And Ezekiel anticipates here more fully in verse 32,

00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:58.500
what Paul teaches us in the New Testament,

00:23:59.940 --> 00:24:02.900
that God wills that all men should be saved.

00:24:03.380 --> 00:24:04.680
And we'll see that in the text.

00:24:06.380 --> 00:24:09.440
Again, this idea of living and dying are used both in the literal

00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:11.740
and in the eschatological sense here.

00:24:11.780 --> 00:24:13.320
Look at the end times, what's to come.

00:24:14.220 --> 00:24:19.140
This idea of living also has that connotation of entering into the kingdom,

00:24:20.260 --> 00:24:21.320
the things that are about to come.

00:24:21.380 --> 00:24:24.440
Of course, the Jews had no idea when the kingdom would come.

00:24:24.660 --> 00:24:26.620
They knew the kingdom had been promised a day,

00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:31.420
and of course, they've gone into this time now where,

00:24:31.860 --> 00:24:34.560
effectively, the monarchy in Israel is pretty much over.

00:24:35.560 --> 00:24:38.780
Looking forward to this time when all the prophets have been saying

00:24:38.780 --> 00:24:40.940
that the Messiah is going to come.

00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:46.660
But to die has the idea of having no share or no part in that kingdom.

00:24:47.640 --> 00:24:49.160
And Ezekiel, like the other Old Testament writers,

00:24:49.300 --> 00:24:51.460
sees this kingdom as an earthly one.

00:24:53.020 --> 00:24:56.540
It's incredible that there are branches of the church today,

00:24:56.640 --> 00:25:03.600
very much drawn out of people like Augustine and others down through history,

00:25:03.740 --> 00:25:05.320
and particularly the Roman Catholic Church,

00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:07.260
and sadly, much of the Reformation,

00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:10.860
propagated this idea of amillennialism,

00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:15.660
that there won't be a literal period of rule and reign on earth of Jesus.

00:25:17.360 --> 00:25:19.700
It's such a common theme in the Old Testament.

00:25:19.700 --> 00:25:25.180
It's incredible that believers have come to those positions and conclusions.

00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:26.620
You've only got to read it.

00:25:26.620 --> 00:25:29.919
You've got to read the text to see how clearly they speak of those times,

00:25:30.020 --> 00:25:30.879
or the time to come.

00:25:33.100 --> 00:25:36.899
So we're going to see three generational examples.

00:25:37.540 --> 00:25:41.540
Ezekiel's going to give us this case study, if you like, to make a point.

00:25:42.540 --> 00:25:46.159
It kind of mirrors real-world history of three of the Judean kings.

00:25:46.840 --> 00:25:51.060
We're going to have contrasted, in type, although he's not mentioned by name,

00:25:51.100 --> 00:25:54.020
but clearly this seems to be what Ezekiel is alluding to here,

00:25:54.540 --> 00:25:56.600
Hezekiah, that godly king.

00:25:56.620 --> 00:25:57.860
The grandfather.

00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:02.620
And then we've got the ungodly son, Manasseh.

00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:05.659
Yes, Manasseh was the son of Hezekiah,

00:26:05.760 --> 00:26:10.500
this brilliant king in those last 15 years of his life

00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:13.479
that he got added on, if you remember, as a son.

00:26:14.500 --> 00:26:15.939
He becomes the worst king.

00:26:17.360 --> 00:26:20.719
And then we've got the godly grandson, if you like, Josiah.

00:26:22.800 --> 00:26:24.360
So verse 5 goes on and says,

00:26:24.360 --> 00:26:26.600
But if a man be just,

00:26:26.620 --> 00:26:29.120
then do that which is lawful and right.

00:26:29.739 --> 00:26:33.399
So the idea underlying here is think of that just grandfather.

00:26:33.540 --> 00:26:34.379
Think of Hezekiah.

00:26:35.179 --> 00:26:36.560
He was a king who was just.

00:26:36.620 --> 00:26:38.040
He did that which was lawful and right.

00:26:38.300 --> 00:26:40.139
And has not eaten upon the mountains.

00:26:41.159 --> 00:26:46.780
This is that idea where the feasts were connected with sacrifices and so on,

00:26:46.919 --> 00:26:52.300
and they were having these false or these pagan rituals and so on on the mountains,

00:26:52.399 --> 00:26:54.040
which they've been told not to do.

00:26:55.399 --> 00:26:56.540
Neither is lifted.

00:26:56.620 --> 00:26:59.620
Neither has set up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel.

00:26:59.620 --> 00:27:02.620
Neither has defiled his neighbour's wife.

00:27:03.620 --> 00:27:06.620
Neither has come near to a menstrual woman.

00:27:07.620 --> 00:27:09.620
And again, these are all things that Ezekiel,

00:27:09.620 --> 00:27:13.620
the Lord through Ezekiel is reminding them of the law that had been given.

00:27:13.620 --> 00:27:20.620
Again, to respect the rights of marriage and respecting the laws regarding unclean women and so on.

00:27:21.620 --> 00:27:23.620
And has not oppressed any,

00:27:23.620 --> 00:27:25.620
but has restored to the debtor his pledge.

>>>>>>>
Now again in Exodus, Deuteronomy, Amos – they all make reference to this idea that if somebody gives you a pledge you give it back.
The first example is that this good person ???? Hezekiah here had done all these things “has spoiled none by violence, has given his bread  to the hungry, and hath
covered the naked with a garment.
These are all things that are drawn from The Lord
<<<<<<<<<<<<


00:27:54.620 --> 00:27:58.580
that this individual in the example is being given.

00:27:59.639 --> 00:28:01.620
He that has not given forth upon usury.

00:28:02.659 --> 00:28:03.040
What's that?

00:28:03.139 --> 00:28:06.179
Well, again, Jews were forbidden to take interest

00:28:06.179 --> 00:28:09.260
or make interest if they'd given a loan to somebody.

00:28:09.399 --> 00:28:11.280
It was fine if it was for foreigners.

00:28:11.919 --> 00:28:13.100
They could put interest on that.

00:28:14.219 --> 00:28:21.540
Neither has taken any increase that has withdrawn his hand from iniquity

00:28:21.540 --> 00:28:24.680
and executed true judgment between man and man.

00:28:25.480 --> 00:28:28.379
And again, has walked in my statutes and has kept my judgments.

00:28:28.659 --> 00:28:30.700
Still truly, he is just.

00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:33.580
He shall surely live, says the Lord God.

00:28:33.760 --> 00:28:37.840
So the picture is painted of a godly person that keeps the law.

00:28:37.940 --> 00:28:40.060
A whole load of different laws are alluded to there.

00:28:40.860 --> 00:28:43.139
They're saying in all these things, as best as possible,

00:28:43.240 --> 00:28:44.580
this individual is upright.

00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:48.060
And God's saying, that person is going to live.

00:28:49.159 --> 00:28:50.820
Again, talking about this life,

00:28:50.899 --> 00:28:51.520
we're not talking about eternal.

00:28:51.540 --> 00:28:53.200
This isn't a salvation thing.

00:28:54.620 --> 00:28:56.159
God's going to bless him in this life.

00:28:56.780 --> 00:28:59.379
And that's typically the blessings that we speak of and read of

00:28:59.379 --> 00:29:00.100
in the Old Testament.

00:29:01.240 --> 00:29:05.000
And then we've got this idea of the just grandfather.

00:29:05.159 --> 00:29:06.300
Again, he's a just man.

00:29:06.639 --> 00:29:10.139
And the son, in contrast, is going to be an ungodly,

00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:12.540
a robber, a murderer, and lots of other horrible things.

00:29:12.840 --> 00:29:15.040
And then the grandson is going to be presented to us.

00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:16.940
Again, who's going to be just.

00:29:17.580 --> 00:29:20.899
And that is going to put to silence the idea

00:29:20.900 --> 00:29:23.260
that you're being punished for your father's sins.

00:29:25.220 --> 00:29:26.280
Verse 10 goes on.

00:29:26.580 --> 00:29:27.580
If he beget a son.

00:29:28.020 --> 00:29:29.820
So this righteous, godly man.

00:29:29.900 --> 00:29:31.120
Again, think King Hezekiah.

00:29:31.400 --> 00:29:34.820
If he begets a son, which he did, which was Manasseh,

00:29:34.820 --> 00:29:38.880
that is a robber, a shedder of blood,

00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:42.560
and that doeth the like.

00:29:42.800 --> 00:29:45.480
So that's all the things that have been listed in verse 6-9.

00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:47.620
To any one of these things,

00:29:47.860 --> 00:29:50.800
and again, the focus now shifts to this example of Manasseh,

00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:53.280
and that doeth not any of those duties,

00:29:53.460 --> 00:29:55.040
but has eaten upon the mountain,

00:29:55.240 --> 00:29:56.680
and defiled his neighbor's wife,

00:29:56.940 --> 00:29:58.520
and has oppressed the poor and needy,

00:29:58.560 --> 00:29:59.800
has spoiled by violence,

00:29:59.960 --> 00:30:01.200
has not restored the pledge,

00:30:01.260 --> 00:30:02.760
and has lifted up his eyes to the idols,

00:30:02.820 --> 00:30:03.980
has committed abomination,

00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:05.860
has given forth usury,

00:30:06.100 --> 00:30:07.160
has taken increase.

00:30:07.380 --> 00:30:08.520
Shall he then live?

00:30:09.160 --> 00:30:10.660
He shall not live.

00:30:11.960 --> 00:30:13.580
He has done all these abominations.

00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:14.560
He shall surely die.

00:30:14.620 --> 00:30:16.580
His blood shall be upon him.

00:30:17.820 --> 00:30:20.520
So what we see straight away is that a good father,

00:30:20.900 --> 00:30:23.480
as in the case here with Hezekiah,

00:30:24.100 --> 00:30:26.480
couldn't pile up merit for his son.

00:30:27.780 --> 00:30:31.360
You know, a father can lay up certain things for the children,

00:30:32.360 --> 00:30:34.700
and when the father dies, the children will inherit.

00:30:34.840 --> 00:30:36.480
What you can't do is lay up good works

00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:38.200
so that your children can inherit those from you.

00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:40.520
They have to make their own choices.

00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:45.660
And again, it's confirmed the fallacy of this proverb

00:30:45.660 --> 00:30:47.100
that the people are quoting.

00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:50.020
And again, this principle is clear

00:30:50.020 --> 00:30:50.880
from the things we're reading.

00:30:50.900 --> 00:30:53.420
Now, lo, if he beget a son,

00:30:54.180 --> 00:30:56.700
all right, so they're kind of now thinking about Josiah,

00:30:57.860 --> 00:31:00.700
who was actually the grandson of Manasseh,

00:31:00.820 --> 00:31:04.760
but the idea is a grandson, next generation.

00:31:05.460 --> 00:31:06.680
And lo, if he beget a son,

00:31:06.760 --> 00:31:09.000
and seeth all his father's sins which he has done,

00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:12.220
and considereth, and doeth not such like,

00:31:12.660 --> 00:31:14.320
that has not eaten upon the mountains,

00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:17.440
neither has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,

00:31:17.760 --> 00:31:19.540
has not defiled his neighbor's wife,

00:31:19.540 --> 00:31:20.820
neither has oppressed any,

00:31:20.900 --> 00:31:22.900
has not withholden the pledge,

00:31:22.900 --> 00:31:24.740
neither has spoiled by violence,

00:31:24.740 --> 00:31:26.660
but has given his bread to the hungry,

00:31:26.660 --> 00:31:28.660
and has covered the naked with a garment,

00:31:28.660 --> 00:31:30.740
that hath taken of his hand from the poor,

00:31:30.740 --> 00:31:32.740
that has not received usury nor increase,

00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:34.260
has executed my judgments,

00:31:34.260 --> 00:31:35.660
has walked in my statutes,

00:31:35.660 --> 00:31:39.400
he shall not die for the iniquity of his father.

00:31:39.400 --> 00:31:40.900
He shall surely live.

00:31:40.900 --> 00:31:43.940
So this example that Ezekiel's giving

00:31:43.940 --> 00:31:49.380
is just pulling the rug out of this false claim,

00:31:49.380 --> 00:31:50.740
this lie that they deceived us,

00:31:50.740 --> 00:31:52.500
deceived themselves with.

00:31:52.500 --> 00:31:54.980
And for his father, because he cruelly oppressed,

00:31:54.980 --> 00:31:56.100
spoiled his brother by violence,

00:31:56.100 --> 00:31:58.180
and did that which is not good among his people,

00:31:58.180 --> 00:32:01.820
lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.

00:32:01.820 --> 00:32:04.100
Yet you say, why?

00:32:04.100 --> 00:32:07.340
Does the son not bear the iniquity of the father?

00:32:07.340 --> 00:32:08.860
All right, just think about this for a second.

00:32:08.860 --> 00:32:09.980
This was their argument,

00:32:09.980 --> 00:32:13.620
almost the response to Ezekiel saying this.

00:32:13.620 --> 00:32:17.380
Why doesn't the son bear the iniquity of the father?

00:32:17.380 --> 00:32:19.620
When the son has done that which is lawful and right,

00:32:19.620 --> 00:32:20.580
and has kept all my statutes,

00:32:20.580 --> 00:32:23.540
and has done them, he shall surely live.

00:32:23.540 --> 00:32:26.820
And it's almost like a consolation to them

00:32:26.820 --> 00:32:29.139
to the thing that the son might suffer

00:32:29.139 --> 00:32:31.620
for his father's misdeeds.

00:32:31.620 --> 00:32:33.820
And the idea for them is it would kind of justify

00:32:33.820 --> 00:32:37.300
the notion of themselves as innocent sufferers

00:32:37.300 --> 00:32:39.020
from the guilt of others.

00:32:39.020 --> 00:32:41.820
And it would justify them in their present course of life,

00:32:41.820 --> 00:32:43.699
which they choose to continue in.

00:32:43.699 --> 00:32:44.899
In other words, again, as I said earlier,

00:32:44.899 --> 00:32:47.540
if we're gonna be punished for it, we might as well do it.

00:32:48.419 --> 00:32:49.620
So they were almost arguing,

00:32:49.620 --> 00:32:52.979
but why shouldn't the son,

00:32:52.979 --> 00:32:54.860
surely the grandson should be punished

00:32:54.860 --> 00:32:56.899
for the father's crimes.

00:32:58.699 --> 00:33:01.020
Again, God, through Ezekiel says,

00:33:01.020 --> 00:33:03.699
the soul that sin it shall die.

00:33:05.739 --> 00:33:08.739
Again, this is repeated for emphasis from verse four.

00:33:10.060 --> 00:33:11.899
The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father,

00:33:11.899 --> 00:33:14.860
neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son.

00:33:14.860 --> 00:33:17.419
The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him,

00:33:17.419 --> 00:33:19.459
and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

00:33:19.620 --> 00:33:21.820
Again, as Ezekiel points out,

00:33:21.820 --> 00:33:23.979
then either son or father will be held responsible

00:33:23.979 --> 00:33:25.260
for the other's iniquity,

00:33:25.260 --> 00:33:28.939
but each person is individually responsible to God.

00:33:28.939 --> 00:33:32.860
But, and this is one that we see God's grace in all of this.

00:33:32.860 --> 00:33:37.540
But if the wicked will turn from all his sins

00:33:37.540 --> 00:33:41.020
that he has committed and keep my statutes

00:33:41.020 --> 00:33:43.379
and do that which is lawful and right,

00:33:43.379 --> 00:33:46.739
he shall surely live, he shall not die.

00:33:47.580 --> 00:33:49.020
And of course, this is what we're told in the Bible,

00:33:49.020 --> 00:33:51.379
what we're told in the New Testament in 2 Peter 3, 9,

00:33:51.379 --> 00:33:52.980
that God is long suffering and not willing

00:33:52.980 --> 00:33:55.300
that any should perish.

00:33:55.300 --> 00:33:59.100
And the chapter emphasizes that the moment a person

00:33:59.100 --> 00:34:01.700
turns from their own sin to God,

00:34:01.700 --> 00:34:05.379
the past, even their own past, let alone the father's,

00:34:05.379 --> 00:34:07.780
no longer determines their standing before God.

00:34:07.780 --> 00:34:12.780
Now, the incredible thing here is Manasseh was taken captive.

00:34:14.820 --> 00:34:17.940
At the end of his life, he repents.

00:34:17.940 --> 00:34:18.940
After all that he'd done, he repents.

00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:20.420
Now, Manasseh, he repents.

00:34:20.420 --> 00:34:21.260
After all that he'd done, he repents.

00:34:21.260 --> 00:34:22.780
After all that he'd done, he repents.

00:34:22.780 --> 00:34:23.659
All the wickedness and everything else,

00:34:23.659 --> 00:34:24.860
and this is an incredible statement,

00:34:24.860 --> 00:34:27.300
Ezekiel's saying this, the Jews would have known this.

00:34:27.300 --> 00:34:29.860
But if the wicked, and you've seen described

00:34:29.860 --> 00:34:31.900
all the things that he did,

00:34:31.900 --> 00:34:34.340
it's in this analogy that Ezekiel's using.

00:34:35.500 --> 00:34:37.420
But if the wicked will turn from his sins

00:34:37.420 --> 00:34:40.300
that he has committed and keep all my statutes

00:34:40.300 --> 00:34:41.820
and do that which is lawful and right,

00:34:41.820 --> 00:34:43.540
he shall surely live.

00:34:43.540 --> 00:34:44.659
What a gracious God.

00:34:46.260 --> 00:34:48.179
And all his transgressions that he has committed,

00:34:48.179 --> 00:34:50.120
They shall not be mentioned unto him.

00:34:50.980 --> 00:34:53.859
In his righteousness that he has done, he shall live.

00:34:54.339 --> 00:34:59.859
Use this example before to say how important your role as grandparents are,

00:34:59.980 --> 00:35:00.899
for those that are grandparents.

00:35:02.220 --> 00:35:06.040
Because Josiah was Manasseh's grandson.

00:35:10.040 --> 00:35:15.520
Manasseh's son, Josiah's father, only reigned for a couple of years,

00:35:15.580 --> 00:35:16.500
and he was a terrible king.

00:35:16.500 --> 00:35:23.000
But at the end of his life, those really early years of Josiah's life,

00:35:23.160 --> 00:35:26.400
those formative years, and we all know how important it is

00:35:26.400 --> 00:35:28.960
when a child is young to teach them properly.

00:35:29.680 --> 00:35:31.640
Because if we don't teach them when they're young,

00:35:31.740 --> 00:35:33.900
it's very hard to pull them back in line later.

00:35:34.420 --> 00:35:35.980
Again, what Scripture tells us.

00:35:37.100 --> 00:35:40.500
Josiah would have seen a repentant grandfather.

00:35:41.140 --> 00:35:43.240
He'd have heard of all the things that happened,

00:35:43.240 --> 00:35:46.240
but he'd have realized and seen what his grandfather,

00:35:46.500 --> 00:35:47.100
his grandfather was like.

00:35:47.420 --> 00:35:52.440
And I have no doubt that the reason Josiah turned out to be such a good king

00:35:52.440 --> 00:35:56.880
was because he had such an incredible witness for Manasseh,

00:35:57.520 --> 00:36:02.220
his grandfather, who had turned away from all that wickedness and that sin

00:36:02.220 --> 00:36:03.740
and turned from his transgressions.

00:36:05.060 --> 00:36:08.000
And effectively, God parlans him because he repents.

00:36:10.240 --> 00:36:12.740
What an important role you have as grandparents

00:36:12.740 --> 00:36:15.160
to sow into the life of your grandchildren.

00:36:15.780 --> 00:36:16.480
Pray for them.

00:36:16.500 --> 00:36:17.400
Encourage them.

00:36:17.520 --> 00:36:18.320
Speak to them.

00:36:18.700 --> 00:36:20.360
Talk to them about things of God.

00:36:22.640 --> 00:36:28.040
I've told you many times how influential my own gran was to me.

00:36:29.160 --> 00:36:31.340
And for those of you who have not heard before,

00:36:31.460 --> 00:36:33.440
but I used to get home from school,

00:36:34.280 --> 00:36:36.620
and this was back in the day when people had newspapers and things.

00:36:36.700 --> 00:36:37.160
Remember those?

00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:40.400
Well, I used to get to, she lived just literally down the road from us.

00:36:40.420 --> 00:36:42.980
I used to take the newspaper down to her at the end of the day.

00:36:42.980 --> 00:36:45.360
So I got home from school and I'd take the newspaper down to see gran.

00:36:46.500 --> 00:36:48.940
And she'd sit me down and she'd just talk to me about the Lord.

00:36:50.280 --> 00:36:53.180
And she'd just read to me from Oswald Chambers,

00:36:53.240 --> 00:36:55.260
from my atmosphere's highest, or just read scripture to me.

00:36:55.300 --> 00:36:56.960
And she had a picture in the back room of Jerusalem.

00:36:58.140 --> 00:36:59.880
And she used to talk to me and point out the things

00:36:59.880 --> 00:37:01.720
and look at the dome of the rock and the temple mount

00:37:01.720 --> 00:37:04.240
and tell me that one day the temple's going to be built there.

00:37:05.740 --> 00:37:09.400
You know, and I was, you know, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten years old.

00:37:09.460 --> 00:37:11.060
And she died when I was 14.

00:37:11.800 --> 00:37:14.020
But in those early years, what an impact she made.

00:37:14.020 --> 00:37:20.280
And, you know, when, as often happens when grandparents die,

00:37:20.360 --> 00:37:22.220
you know, you're given certain things.

00:37:22.300 --> 00:37:24.580
Well, I got, the one thing that was so special to me

00:37:24.580 --> 00:37:26.400
was her copy of my atmosphere's highest.

00:37:27.080 --> 00:37:27.880
I've still got it at home.

00:37:27.960 --> 00:37:28.460
I treasure it.

00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:29.880
And I've read it so many times.

00:37:30.360 --> 00:37:32.720
And there's still bits in there that she underlined

00:37:32.720 --> 00:37:34.420
and bits I remember her talking to me about,

00:37:34.720 --> 00:37:38.020
just trying to encourage me to walk a godly life.

00:37:39.220 --> 00:37:41.520
So again, I encourage you as grandparents,

00:37:41.759 --> 00:37:43.400
so into the life of your grandchildren,

00:37:43.400 --> 00:37:45.060
you may not think it's making any difference,

00:37:45.200 --> 00:37:46.200
but it really does.

00:37:46.520 --> 00:37:48.300
And you may not see the fruit right now,

00:37:49.080 --> 00:37:50.080
but in time.

00:37:52.060 --> 00:37:53.240
Verse 23 says,

00:37:53.320 --> 00:37:56.540
Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith the Lord,

00:37:57.040 --> 00:37:59.500
and not that he should return from his ways and live?

00:38:00.540 --> 00:38:03.080
See, God, just again, emphasizing,

00:38:03.840 --> 00:38:06.280
he doesn't want to crush us.

00:38:06.320 --> 00:38:08.460
He doesn't want to bring judgment upon us.

00:38:08.520 --> 00:38:11.120
But God is a just and a righteous God.

00:38:11.120 --> 00:38:13.380
And he cannot let iniquity go.

00:38:13.400 --> 00:38:14.140
He cannot let iniquity go unpunished.

00:38:16.620 --> 00:38:20.280
There's no better analysis of the effects of the blood of Christ

00:38:20.280 --> 00:38:24.260
on a repentant soul than verse 22 here.

00:38:25.720 --> 00:38:27.140
That when we come and we repent,

00:38:27.260 --> 00:38:29.480
we place our faith and trust in Jesus,

00:38:29.600 --> 00:38:33.980
when we acknowledge that he has paid for our sin.

00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:39.980
Again, all the things, the transgressions that we've committed,

00:38:39.980 --> 00:38:42.160
they shall not be mentioned unto him.

00:38:42.800 --> 00:38:43.200
It's gone.

00:38:43.200 --> 00:38:46.399
We were speaking at Bible study about that white stone

00:38:46.399 --> 00:38:48.660
that's spoken of in the book of Revelation.

00:38:50.379 --> 00:38:54.859
That white stone that in the court of law would mean acquittal.

00:38:55.859 --> 00:38:57.399
That you've been let go.

00:38:57.540 --> 00:38:59.160
The charges have been dropped against you.

00:39:00.240 --> 00:39:02.359
It's the white stone also that was typically given

00:39:02.359 --> 00:39:05.279
to somebody who'd won a race.

00:39:06.700 --> 00:39:10.140
And every one of those kind of understandings, it applies to us.

00:39:10.580 --> 00:39:12.580
Jesus says that we'll be given a white stone,

00:39:12.580 --> 00:39:16.220
and symbolically of speaking of the fact that we've been let go,

00:39:16.299 --> 00:39:18.980
that the court has ruled us not guilty because of Christ.

00:39:20.120 --> 00:39:22.240
That we have effectively won the race.

00:39:25.259 --> 00:39:27.799
Again, it's only possible looking forward to the cross.

00:39:28.759 --> 00:39:31.880
The Old Testament system, the sacrificial system was temporary.

00:39:32.880 --> 00:39:35.140
You know, even the Jews at this time,

00:39:35.620 --> 00:39:38.360
those, Manasseh, any of them that repented,

00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:41.020
those that would have brought and offered sacrifices,

00:39:41.020 --> 00:39:42.420
it was still only temporary.

00:39:42.580 --> 00:39:46.279
Looking forward to the cross, that's where the forgiveness comes.

00:39:46.640 --> 00:39:48.120
That's where the acquittal comes.

00:39:50.259 --> 00:39:52.860
Again, it's a gracious call to repentance.

00:39:53.200 --> 00:39:55.340
Chuck Misler said this, he said,

00:39:55.819 --> 00:39:59.200
the most precious word in the whole book of Ezekiel.

00:39:59.720 --> 00:40:02.360
Speaking of this verse, what it tells us.

00:40:03.620 --> 00:40:04.480
Speaking of verse 24,

00:40:04.600 --> 00:40:07.120
but when the righteous turns away from his righteousness

00:40:07.120 --> 00:40:10.920
and commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations

00:40:10.920 --> 00:40:12.020
that the wicked men do,

00:40:12.020 --> 00:40:14.259
the wicked man doeth, shall he live?

00:40:14.259 --> 00:40:15.700
Okay, so this is spinning around.

00:40:15.700 --> 00:40:18.860
So what happens if you've got somebody who's seemingly lived a good life?

00:40:19.600 --> 00:40:23.420
Oh, well, there's some great examples of the kings of Israel that did this.

00:40:24.820 --> 00:40:26.980
I remember again, Chuck Missler, in the ???? commentaries,

00:40:26.980 --> 00:40:28.980
would often talk about finishing well.

00:40:28.980 --> 00:40:30.500
I've heard many other pastors say,

00:40:31.720 --> 00:40:34.860
you know, it's not so much the challenge as living as you're going through,

00:40:34.860 --> 00:40:35.860
but it's finishing well.

00:40:36.860 --> 00:40:38.140
It's finishing the race well.

00:40:38.140 --> 00:40:40.140
And you know what it's like, I mean, well, I say you know,

00:40:40.140 --> 00:40:41.860
I mean, I can't comment from experience,

00:40:41.860 --> 00:40:43.860
but imagine somebody running a race,

00:40:44.900 --> 00:40:47.700
you know, and that last part's the hard part, isn't it?

00:40:48.820 --> 00:40:50.580
And you've got to try and keep going.

00:40:50.580 --> 00:40:54.420
But it's, you know, you see when we see people doing marathons on television,

00:40:54.420 --> 00:40:56.500
again, I can only imagine what this is like.

00:40:56.500 --> 00:40:58.920
I've never done those things.

00:40:59.540 --> 00:41:03.580
But you know, that last part is so easy to say, I'm going to give up.

00:41:05.740 --> 00:41:08.980
But in our Christian life, it's so important that we finish well.

00:41:10.200 --> 00:41:11.700
Because it's so easy to get disappointed.

00:41:11.700 --> 00:41:14.660
It's so easy to get discouraged and get worn out and get run down.

00:41:15.819 --> 00:41:17.259
Anyway, we go back to the verse,

00:41:17.259 --> 00:41:20.620
when the righteous turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity

00:41:20.620 --> 00:41:24.060
and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live?

00:41:24.700 --> 00:41:28.540
And it says, all his righteousness that he's done shall not be mentioned.

00:41:29.180 --> 00:41:32.660
In his trespass that he has trespassed and in his sin that he has sinned,

00:41:32.660 --> 00:41:34.180
in them shall he die.

00:41:34.819 --> 00:41:38.060
And we're talking about a righteous man, a good man, upright, moral, noble.

00:41:38.060 --> 00:41:40.500
Again, we're not talking about somebody who's saved and sanctified.

00:41:40.500 --> 00:41:41.660
That's never been the theme.

00:41:41.700 --> 00:41:42.700
That's never been the theme of this chapter.

00:41:44.140 --> 00:41:49.379
You see, if men perish, it's because they will not come to the Lord for salvation.

00:41:50.419 --> 00:41:52.700
Not that the Lord is not willing to save them.

00:41:53.819 --> 00:41:58.299
They trample on not merely justice, but mercy.

00:41:58.859 --> 00:42:03.620
And therefore, what further hope can there be for them, even when mercy is against them?

00:42:04.779 --> 00:42:09.859
Chuck Missler says this, he says, quoting these verses in similar passages, he says,

00:42:09.859 --> 00:42:11.660
have been understood by some that




 are committed to the Lord.

00:42:11.700 --> 00:42:17.259
And so, in this text, we see that the



a Christian may lose his righteous standing before God.

00:42:17.259 --> 00:42:22.020
But in support of the security of the believer, it should be observed that these passages in Ezekiel

00:42:22.020 --> 00:42:28.140
do not teach the eternal loss of the saved person, because the word righteous may refer to ceremonial religion

00:42:28.140 --> 00:42:31.859
and not the righteousness which is of God by faith.

00:42:31.859 --> 00:42:38.020
Moreover, the punishment threatened refers only to physical death rather than to eternal death.

00:42:38.020 --> 00:42:41.180
In any case, these texts in Ezekiel must be considered in the light of such New Testament affirmations as





texts,

00:42:41.180 --> 00:43:06.180
and not the

00:43:06.180 --> 00:43:07.180
divine law.






00:43:07.180 --> 00:43:08.180
John 10, Romans 5, 8, 9, and so on.

00:43:08.180 --> 00:43:09.180
Philippians 1, 6.

00:43:09.180 --> 00:43:10.180
So, they so clearly teach the security of the believer.

00:43:10.180 --> 00:43:11.180 {{42m55}}
There's another big study all on its own there.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This isn’t saying that somebody can lose their salvation, but it is saying that you can certainly, for Christians, you can lose your reward.  John tells us, in two John, “be careful that you don’t lose those things that you’ve worked for, but that you receive your full reward.” What does that tell us?
It tells us that you can lose your reward!.
It tells us that as we go through our lives as Christians, we can do some wonderful things and we can lay up treasure in heaven.
Guess what – we can also undo that!



00:43:26.180 --> 00:43:33.160
That doesn't affect our salvation, but we can certainly (???) lose rewards. The same

00:43:33.160 --> 00:43:40.120
principle applies. Verse 25, yet you say the way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now,

00:43:40.220 --> 00:43:45.620
the house of Israel, it's not my way equal, are not your ways unequal? What's he saying?

00:43:46.899 --> 00:43:54.500
It's the idea of equal is literally adjusted to the standard. All right. And this is the

00:43:54.500 --> 00:43:58.680
idea, you know, the saying God is not fair. We hear that so often today. Why would a good

00:43:58.680 --> 00:44:03.460
God allow whatever? And people challenge all the time. Why does God allow? Why would God

00:44:03.460 --> 00:44:08.120
do that? And this is what they would say. Well, God's not fair. God's bringing judgment

00:44:08.120 --> 00:44:12.900
upon us. It's not fair. When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits

00:44:12.900 --> 00:44:19.000
iniquity and dies in the prison of iniquity that he has done, shall he die? Again, when

00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:23.520
a wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed and does that which

00:44:23.520 --> 00:44:24.220
is lawful and right.

00:44:24.220 --> 00:44:24.320
Right.

00:44:24.320 --> 00:44:24.480
Right.

00:44:24.500 --> 00:44:31.320
He shall save his soul alive because he considered and turned away from all his transgressions

00:44:31.320 --> 00:44:36.240
that he's committed. He shall surely live. He shall not die. Yet saith the house of Israel,

00:44:36.340 --> 00:44:40.420
the way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal and not your

00:44:40.420 --> 00:44:47.220
ways unequal? God just reiterates that. Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel, everyone

00:44:47.220 --> 00:44:54.320
according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent and turn yourselves from all your transgressions

00:44:54.320 --> 00:44:57.600
and transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

00:44:57.600 --> 00:45:05.140
There can't be a more frightening proposition anywhere in Scripture than Ezekiel 18, verse

00:45:05.140 --> 00:45:12.300
30. Because God is there. This is again, not speaking for those who know Christ. Our sin

00:45:12.300 --> 00:45:19.180
is paid for. All done. But for somebody who doesn't place their faith and trust in Jesus,

00:45:19.180 --> 00:45:24.140
this applies. Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel. The rest of you shall be

00:45:24.140 --> 00:45:27.580
judged according to your ways.

00:45:27.580 --> 00:45:36.020
Imagine being judged according to your ways. We know that at the great white throne judgment,

00:45:37.060 --> 00:45:42.620
right at the end, after the millennial reign of Christ, when all unbelievers are called

00:45:42.620 --> 00:45:50.900
up and called to stand before God, they will be judged according to their works. How scary

00:45:50.900 --> 00:45:54.120
is that? Because it doesn't matter how many good things they do, they're going to be judged

00:45:54.140 --> 00:45:55.140
according to their works.

00:45:55.140 --> 00:46:00.220
The more things you might have done, you've done way more that are bad. You're way more

00:46:00.220 --> 00:46:05.900
that you've done that's a contravention of the laws that God has stated and placed in

00:46:05.900 --> 00:46:11.180
motion from the Ten Commandments through the things that are written in our hearts, our

00:46:11.180 --> 00:46:16.080
conscience. And as we said before, even if you were to create your own list of rules,

00:46:16.080 --> 00:46:22.259
you'd break your own rules within a day. And the thought that we'll be judged or people

00:46:22.259 --> 00:46:24.120
will be judged according to their works.

00:46:24.140 --> 00:46:26.140
There's a really scary thought.

00:46:26.140 --> 00:46:31.299
It says, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions. Again, the Hebrew is kind

00:46:31.299 --> 00:46:37.620
of a play on words really here, just to emphasize the point. It's kind of turn and return. Your

00:46:37.620 --> 00:46:42.020
transgressions, so iniquity. The idea, again, not as being perfect. The idea is that you're

00:46:42.020 --> 00:46:50.819
moving away from those things. Repent and separate yourself from that. Cast away from

00:46:50.819 --> 00:46:54.100
you all your transgressions, whereby you have transgressed.

00:46:54.140 --> 00:47:01.700
And make you a new heart and a new spirit. But why would you die, O house of Israel?

00:47:01.700 --> 00:47:06.460
Now, of course, this isn't possible in the natural. We can't do that. We can't create

00:47:06.460 --> 00:47:11.700
a new heart in ourselves. We can't give ourselves a new spirit. This is, of course, all looking

00:47:11.700 --> 00:47:18.299
forward to what is to come. Again, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies,

00:47:18.299 --> 00:47:23.140
says the Lord. Wherefore, turn yourselves and live in him.

00:47:23.140 --> 00:47:24.140
Everyone,

00:47:24.140 --> 00:47:31.900
stand alone. Stand before God. Not based upon somebody else. You can't blame it on

00:47:31.900 --> 00:47:35.779
your environment or your upbringing or whatever else.

00:47:35.779 --> 00:47:40.379
The teaching of this chapter answers the new psychology, if you like, that we have today,

00:47:40.379 --> 00:47:45.220
which argues that a person is the way they are through no fault of their own. It's because

00:47:45.220 --> 00:47:49.379
of where they were born, or it's because of the parenting, or it's because of their social

00:47:49.379 --> 00:47:54.100
situation. It's always something else.

00:47:54.140 --> 00:48:00.339
And the world today tries to remove this idea of personal accountability, of personal

00:48:00.339 --> 00:48:07.220
responsibility. We can blame this, we can blame that. It's not our fault. But here,

00:48:07.220 --> 00:48:13.779
Ezekiel God sets the record straight. You're a sinner because you're a sinner yourself.

00:48:13.779 --> 00:48:18.940
We are sinners that have fallen short of the glory of God. There is none that's righteous,

00:48:18.940 --> 00:48:21.140
no, not one, is what we're told in the book of Romans.


00:48:24.140 --> 00:48:29.500
And God is emphasizing that everyone, I mean, particularly in the picture here, he's speaking

00:48:29.500 --> 00:48:34.460
of Israel, but it's true of the whole world. Everyone is in that place of being a sinner

00:48:34.460 --> 00:48:39.839
before God. And every individual will stand before God and won't be able to blame parents

00:48:39.839 --> 00:48:47.000
or anything else at that time. Ezekiel makes it very clear that the Israelites will be

00:48:47.000 --> 00:48:52.339
judged in this life on the basis of the life that they've lived, whether they were a believer

00:48:52.339 --> 00:48:52.839
or not.

00:48:53.140 --> 00:49:01.080
Now, of course, for us, we don't have to be judged according to the way we've lived

00:49:01.080 --> 00:49:07.279
our lives if we put our faith and trust in Jesus. The New Testament comes with this new

00:49:07.279 --> 00:49:16.180
covenant, this new agreement that's based upon the blood of Christ. This chapter emphasizes

00:49:16.180 --> 00:49:22.460
that the moment a person turns from their own sin to God, the past, even their own past,

00:49:22.460 --> 00:49:25.080
no longer determines their standing before God.

00:49:26.140 --> 00:49:28.500
And the idea, again, of this generational curse,

00:49:29.420 --> 00:49:30.260
that teaching is prevalent,

00:49:30.440 --> 00:49:32.740
certainly in charismatic and Pentecostal circles,

00:49:33.380 --> 00:49:37.100
the idea that you're somehow legally bound by a demon or a curse

00:49:37.100 --> 00:49:39.740
because your grandfather was a Freemason or whatever else,

00:49:40.140 --> 00:49:40.960
is rebutted here.

00:49:42.440 --> 00:49:44.720
God doesn't judge you because of what your parents did.

00:49:45.600 --> 00:49:48.600
We stand before God as individuals.

00:49:49.540 --> 00:49:52.180
And, of course, we know that in Galatians 3.13,

00:49:52.460 --> 00:49:54.160
even if a curse did exist,

00:49:54.660 --> 00:49:57.600
when we come to Christ, we're told that Christ redeemed us

00:49:57.600 --> 00:50:00.080
from the curse of the Lord, becoming a curse for us.

00:50:00.660 --> 00:50:01.980
He took it all upon himself.

00:50:03.360 --> 00:50:05.120
Therefore, for a believer to say,

00:50:05.220 --> 00:50:07.180
well, I'm cursed by an ancestor's sin,

00:50:07.240 --> 00:50:09.100
would imply that Christ's work was insufficient.

00:50:10.940 --> 00:50:12.820
And remember what we're told in the book of Romans.

00:50:14.200 --> 00:50:17.460
There is therefore now no condemnation

00:50:17.460 --> 00:50:18.840
to them which are in Christ Jesus,

00:50:18.840 --> 00:50:21.080
who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.

00:50:21.080 --> 00:50:23.319
No condemnation.

00:50:24.240 --> 00:50:26.319
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus

00:50:26.319 --> 00:50:28.960
has made me free from the law of sin and death.

00:50:30.140 --> 00:50:32.720
Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature.

00:50:33.240 --> 00:50:34.420
Old things are passed away.

00:50:34.500 --> 00:50:36.020
Behold, all things are become new.

00:50:36.299 --> 00:50:38.420
See, the wonderful thing about the gospel,

00:50:39.299 --> 00:50:42.240
even more than Ezekiel understood or knew at that time

00:50:42.240 --> 00:50:43.520
or had been revealed at that time,

00:50:43.720 --> 00:50:47.340
the picture here is painted that they were responsible for their own sin,

00:50:47.400 --> 00:50:49.120
that the judgment that's coming upon Jerusalem,

00:50:49.120 --> 00:50:50.960
they deserved it.

00:50:51.080 --> 00:50:52.500
Because of their iniquity,

00:50:52.880 --> 00:50:54.759
let alone what had happened in the past.

00:50:56.120 --> 00:50:58.600
And of course, the plea that God has is they turn from that,

00:50:58.660 --> 00:51:01.080
that they walk in a godly way.

00:51:02.200 --> 00:51:04.700
But that couldn't purge the conscience.

00:51:06.420 --> 00:51:09.819
Whereas Christ, through his blood,

00:51:10.480 --> 00:51:12.319
can purge the very conscience.

00:51:14.060 --> 00:51:15.799
And we become white.

00:51:15.900 --> 00:51:16.660
We become clean.

00:51:18.060 --> 00:51:20.460
And this is why these verses in the New Testament

00:51:20.460 --> 00:51:21.060
are so precious.

00:51:21.080 --> 00:51:26.620
This is far more than God is speaking to the Jews at that time

00:51:26.620 --> 00:51:28.400
about the life.

00:51:28.500 --> 00:51:30.640
This is speaking about eternal life now.

00:51:32.100 --> 00:51:33.480
And this is what we have.

00:51:34.660 --> 00:51:36.620
Let's leave it there.

00:51:36.700 --> 00:51:38.020
We'll pick it up, verse 19,

00:51:38.299 --> 00:51:40.620
which concludes this little section next week,

00:51:40.640 --> 00:51:41.500
and then we'll go on from there.

00:51:41.600 --> 00:51:42.080
Let's bow our hearts.

00:51:42.180 --> 00:51:44.000
Father, we thank you for your word.

00:51:44.660 --> 00:51:47.100
We thank you for these things that remind us

00:51:47.100 --> 00:51:49.960
of our own personal responsibility.

00:51:51.080 --> 00:51:54.440
They remind us, Lord, that we can't blame others

00:51:54.440 --> 00:51:55.700
for the way things are.

00:51:56.860 --> 00:51:58.520
But Lord, beyond all of that,

00:51:58.580 --> 00:52:00.020
we thank you that there's something

00:52:00.020 --> 00:52:02.799
that you have revealed in your word

00:52:02.799 --> 00:52:06.200
that Ezekiel at that time and others

00:52:06.200 --> 00:52:07.400
didn't fully comprehend.

00:52:09.259 --> 00:52:11.420
That there will be a time when you would

00:52:11.420 --> 00:52:15.700
create in those who are willing to repent

00:52:15.700 --> 00:52:18.060
a new heart

00:52:18.060 --> 00:52:21.000
and place a new spirit within them.

00:52:21.080 --> 00:52:23.900
Lord, you have made that promise to the nation of Israel.

00:52:24.660 --> 00:52:28.140
And that promise is for each one of us through Christ.

00:52:29.840 --> 00:52:32.500
That regardless of what has happened in the past,

00:52:32.799 --> 00:52:34.799
regardless of what we've thought or said or done,

00:52:35.759 --> 00:52:38.620
we can be made completely clean.

00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:42.740
And as Jude reminds us in the New Testament,

00:52:42.740 --> 00:52:46.360
that you are able to present us faultless

00:52:46.360 --> 00:52:48.500
before the throne of God.

00:52:49.460 --> 00:52:50.900
We just thank you for the one,

00:52:50.900 --> 00:52:52.120
the wonder of the gospel,

00:52:52.120 --> 00:52:55.480
for the joy that they should fill our hearts

00:52:55.480 --> 00:52:56.880
as we think of these things.

00:52:58.540 --> 00:53:01.360
Lord, stir us as we meditate

00:53:01.360 --> 00:53:02.560
and think on these things.

00:53:02.660 --> 00:53:03.800
We ask in Jesus' name.

00:53:04.200 --> 00:53:04.440
Amen.

00:53:06.080 --> 00:53:07.400
Okay, may God richly bless you

00:53:07.400 --> 00:53:08.780
as we spend some time fellowshipping

00:53:08.780 --> 00:53:09.820
over some teas and coffees.